Yerevan /Mediamax/. Former President and Prime Minister of Turkey Suleyman Demirel died at 91.

Suleyman served as Turkish President from 1993 to 2000. From 1960 to 1990 he served as Turkey’s PM for several times and was twice relieved from his post because of military coups.

In November 1999, Suleyman Demirel had a meeting with President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan in Istanbul, within the framework of the OSCE Summit.

After the meeting Demirel had said that “the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations and the opening of the border depend on the progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.”

Asked whether the U.S. can act as a mediator in the normalization of Yerevan-Ankara ties by Mediamax’s special correspondent, Demirel had said then:

“I would like to note that the independent Republic of Armenia has a history of merely eight years. However, the establishment of peace in the Caucasus is beneficial for all of us – Turkey, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.”

In his exclusive interview to Mediamax in 2007, former Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ozdem Sanberk said:

“When Suleyman Demirel first met President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan back in 1998, the Turkish President asked him ‘what is the reason for hostility between six-year-old Armenian Republic and 75-year-old Turkish Republic?’ Demirel offered to help your young state integrate into the world; your citizens have the right to expect more from you after 70 fruitless years.”