Number of conditions prevent Turkey from opening border with Armenia, says Turkish official

Date of military NATO's military exercises in Armenia has not yet been specified, Head of the Turkish delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) Vahid Erdem said.

"Opening of the Turkish-Armenian border is associated with a number of conditions. It's impossible to open the border between the two countries without these conditions. Date of the military exercises in Armenia is unknown," Erdem told Trend, without elborating on the reasons.

Earlier, it was reported that Turkey does not exclude the possibility of a partial and temporary opening of the Turkish-Armenian border Sept.11- 17, 2010 as part of NATO military exercises planned in Armenia. But Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu denied this information saying the border will in no case be opened.

Mr Erdem also noted that even if date of exercise is specified, Turkey will not open its border with Armenia for these exercises even temporarily.

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey broken in 1993 when Ankara, in solidarity with Azerbaijan, closed the border due to the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh.