Turkish FM meets Azerbaijani counterpart, president in Baku

Bilateral relations, regional developments and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute were high on Babacan's agenda.

Burak Ozugergin, spokesman for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the Anatolian Agency that Babacan highlighted the importance of finding solutions to disputes to ensure stability in the region during his meetings.

"Babacan said that the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute should be resolved peacefully in line with international law and by protecting Azerbaijan's territorial integrity," Ozugergin said.Â

The Turkish foreign minister met Saturday with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian and President Serzh Sargsyan in the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said the talks were quite productive.Â

Nagorno-Karabakh, a frozen conflict legacy of the Soviet Union, has been standing at the center of Azerbaijan-Armenia and Turkey-Armenia relations. Turkey closed its borders with Armenia due to Yerevan's aggression against Azerbaijan.

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988 on Armenian territorial claims over Azerbaijan. Since 1992 Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts.

Both countries continue with fruitless peace negotiations. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, Russia, and France, is engaged in efforts to the conflict peacefully.

Babacan returned to Turkey from Azerbaijan later on Monday.Â