"Main condition for Turkey to normalize relations with Armenia is liberation of occupied territories of Azerbaijan": Chavushoglu

The main condition for Turkey to normalize relations with Armenia is the liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, said the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Mevlut Chavushoglu as he spoke on Saturday in the Swedish city of Gothenburg at a conference titles "The Role of Turkey in the European Union", reported by Turkish daily Hurriyet.

"Turkey aims to develop cooperation with all neighboring countries: European countries - in the west, with its neighbors and the Islamic world - in the east. But the main condition for normalizing relations with Armenia is the liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Once this condition is fulfilled, the relationship with Armenia also will normalize," Chavushoglu said.

In his speech Mr Chavushoglu touched on the issue of a possible "change of direction in foreign policy" of Turkey.

"The direction of foreign policy has changed, is changing. Turkey turns away from the EU towards the East." Such statements are - baseless, inaccurate, speculative talks. There is no change in the direction of our policy. Full membership in the European Union still is the main goal of Turkish foreign policy", Chavushoglu said.