Turkey sets condition on Armenia peace accord

Historic agreements just signed between Turkey and Armenia, to resume diplomatic relations after decades of hostility, may have met its first hurdle.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Sunday that the parliament would not look favorably on the accords, signed in Zurich on Saturday by the two nations' foreign ministers, unless Armenia withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan.

He linked the condition to the provision in the fragile agreements, seeking the reopening of the common border, which Azerbaijan has slammed as a threat to regional stability.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has also threatened that the deals would "cast a shadow" on its ties with Istanbul.

"We want all the borders to be opened at the same time..., but as long as Armenia has not withdrawn from Azerbaijani territory that it is occupying, Turkey cannot have a positive attitude on this subject," Erdogan told a meeting of officials from his party on Sunday.

The US and European officials pushed for the Saturday's agreements, aimed at normalizing relations between the two nations, despite last-minute differences.

The disputed Nagorny-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan has long been a source of disputes between Turkey and Armenia.

Armenia says the Armenian-majority enclave, which broke free from Azerbaijan after a war, has no place in the reconciliation negotiations with Turkey, which backs Baku.