Ahmet Davutoglu

Davutoglu who is on an official visit to Kazakhstan told Anatolia News Agency that he was confident that Kazakhstan would take important steps for the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Davutoglu said he discussed the issue with his Kazakh counterpart Kanat Saudabayev, who is chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

"As far as I know, Mr Saudabayev will be visiting both Baku and Yerevan in the next few days. We communicated our position to them. Kazakhstan may make a significant contribution on Nagorno-Karabakh. We are hopeful for the future," Davutoglu said.

Referring to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's call to Turkey to reveal its intentions on Karabakh, Davutoglu said Turkey had made its intention clear to all parties.

"Turkey will support all steps taken toward the establishment of peace," Davutoglu said.

Sargsyan said in an address to the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London last week that Turkey had made Karabakh a precondition for the approval of the normalization protocols with Armenia. Sargsyan said that this attitude jeopardised both the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the normalization of relations with Turkey.

Commenting on the recent row between Iran and the international community, Davutoglu said he wanted to visit Iran next Tuesday, signalling a Turkish initiative for mediation.

"We are ready to do everything within our reach to overcome the current tension through peaceful means," Davutoglu said.

Davutoglu, who also commented on the Cyprus issue, reiterated Turkey's stance in support of a lasting solution and said they did not want settlement talks to be interrupted.

Anatolia