The following interview with Ahmet Kenan Tanrikulu, a member of the Turkish Parliament from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), originally appeared in the July 25 edition of Gun. Az, an Azerbaijani news website.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the opening of the Armenian border during her recent visit to Turkey. May the issue be put back on the agenda?

As you know, the borders are closed because of the occupation of Karabakh. It is impossible to open borders and it is senseless to put this issue on the agenda until Karabakh has been freed from occupation.

In the meantime, Turkish society will not let this happen either. We are well aware of the problems the border issue caused between the two fraternal states. Our Azerbaijani brothers may be confident that this issue will not be on the agenda until the Karabakh issue has been resolved. The MHP has a resolute stance on this matter and we will not leave Azerbaijan alone on this issue.

We have given a promise to our Azerbaijani brothers and breaking this promise would mean further encouraging Armenia to occupation. Moreover, those who gave promises to Azerbaijan at the Azerbaijani parliament will keep them and will not open the borders with Armenia. Otherwise, whoever gets involved in this game will face the will of the Turkish nation.

Opinions vary on ties between the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, and Armenia. What can you say about this?

The fact that the PKK freely operates in Armenia, the fact that it has media access, the cooperation between the PKK and ASALA [Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia], several agreements signed between the PKK and Armenia and joint action under the principle "My enemy's enemy is my friend" are striking examples of this. Armenia, which is trying to develop its economy and to get false "genocide" claims recognized by the world and is embracing the PKK, is a source of danger both to the region and the world. Therefore, all Turkic states across the world, especially Azerbaijan and Turkey, should join efforts to eliminate the dangers. 

Does Armenia's failure to reach an agreement in the Karabakh talks create potential danger for the region?

Armenia’s spoiled policy poses a great danger to the region. The attitude towards Armenia should be toughened and Yerevan should not think that no one can resist it because Armenia feels very comfortable whenever we retreat. If we took a step back on Karabakh, it would mean we didn’t keep our promise to Azerbaijan. This is impossible.

Interestingly, the West raises the border issue without putting pressure on Armenia over Karabakh. What do you think is the reason? 

We know that the Armenian lobby has a strong influence on the US and European Union. Obama has also promised, along with other US presidents, to recognize the "genocide" to win the votes of the Armenian diaspora.

There should be no surprise at their sympathy for the Armenians. What is interesting is that Bill Clinton sent a letter to the head of the House of Representatives, recommending that the law submitted to the House not be adopted. There is a delicate policy here.

The Armenian lobby should reduce influence on Armenia and end the false "genocide propaganda" around the world. We should prove to the world that Armenia’s claims are untrue through the facts we have. We have sufficient opportunities to do this.