Tweet
ANKARA VERY MUCH WANTS THE 21ST CENTURY TO BECOME CENTURY OF SETTLING CONFLICTS
TREND Information
Oct 9 2007
Azerbaijan
Interview with Foreign Minister of Turkey
Israel, Jerusalem /corr. Trend R.Mammadov / Trend exclusive interview
with the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Ali Babajan.
- What is your opinion of the current level of cooperation between
Turkey and Azerbaijan?
- Azerbaijan is our fraternal country. Cooperation between Turkey
and Azerbaijan is based on deep historical roots. Our peoples are
connected by the ancestors formed over many centuries. Friendship and
cooperation has strengthened further in recent years. Today Turkey and
Azerbaijan have reached a close unity and developing economically our
countries surely head towards the future. Azerbaijan is carrying out
international projects which will assist in strengthening stability and
security, economic development and integration of the region. Turkey
actively participates in all these global projects.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline,
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project form new stages of development in
the region. Consolidating our efforts regard to this and coordinating
our policies, we can fully ensure the economic interests of the two
countries. Currently commercial and economic relations between Turkey
and Azerbaijan are developing intensively, but yet it does not fully
reflect the existing potential - we should use this potential. There
are high-level relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. We have good
reliable relations with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. It
is not incidental that the newly elected President of Turkey,
Abdulla Gul, will make one of his official visits to Azerbaijan at
the beginning of next month.
- Recently it became known that the issue of opening borders between
Turkey and Armenia was on the agenda again. What do you think of this?
- You are well aware of current relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Obstacles to the development of relations between the two countries
are presented on the one hand and problems in the history of our
people on the other hand, by the conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia which resulted from Armenia's territorial claims against
Azerbaijan. In this situation, Turkish diplomacy seeks and tries to
find ways of dialogue with Armenia.
Recently participating at the General Assembly in New York, I met
with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Vardan Oskanyan and I told him
that we are neighbors and we need to exist in the way of dialogue
and cooperation. We have historical problems, but we should try to
regulate our problems in a peaceful and civilized manner and should
look to the future.
- What role may Turkey play in regulating the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Turkey?
- We have knowledge of the history and real situation of the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We believe that in the near future
Azerbaijan and Armenia will find realistic potential chances to settle
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem peacefully. Turkey, as a fraternal
country of Azerbaijan, is prepared to act as a political mediator
to regulate the situation and achieve peace. We want our region
to become the region of peace, dialogue and welfare. We very much
want the 21st century to become the century of resolving conflicts,
but not the century of confrontation and war. We wish all problems
between the states, including territorial problems, to be resolved
through political talks and consensus. It is a fundamental thesis of
our foreign policy.
If we look through the foreign policy of Turkey, we can see relations
Turkey had with Greece ten years ago and have now. In addition, we had
problems with other neighboring countries. It is possible to speak of
Syrian-Turkish relations, where only confrontations were in existence
ten years ago, but today we are actively cooperating. We will apply
this conception in resolving problems between other countries. We
consider that the problems in Iraq, the Arabian-Israeli conflict and
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict need to be politically resolved. We
highlight this at meetings with many State Heads and Foreign Ministers.
- What are you thinking of the prospects of regulating Arabian-Israeli
conflict within your diplomatic tour in the Near East?
- During my visit to the Near East, I am planning to visit nine
countries in this region. I have already been to Syria and held
talks in Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy. The visit was aimed at
determining how Turkey, as a large and influential country, can assist
in regulating historical Arabian-Israeli conflict. During the talks,
I became aware that there are many points of contact between Israel
and Palestine. In addition, I sent an invitation to the President of
Israel, Shimon Peres, to make an official visit to Turkey. We have very
good reliable relations with Israel and economic relations between the
two countries are growing each year. During my talks with the Prime
Minister of Israel and with the Chairman of Palestinian Autonomy,
Mahmud Abbas, I made sure that the sides are very decisively inclined
towards peace and dialogue. We believe that the Near Eastern conference
in Annapolis will be prepared very well and the countries attending
the conference will assist Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy in
achieving a peaceful agreement between the countries. Turkey, as a
country having historical roots in the Near East, hopes this very much.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
TREND Information
Oct 9 2007
Azerbaijan
Interview with Foreign Minister of Turkey
Israel, Jerusalem /corr. Trend R.Mammadov / Trend exclusive interview
with the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Ali Babajan.
- What is your opinion of the current level of cooperation between
Turkey and Azerbaijan?
- Azerbaijan is our fraternal country. Cooperation between Turkey
and Azerbaijan is based on deep historical roots. Our peoples are
connected by the ancestors formed over many centuries. Friendship and
cooperation has strengthened further in recent years. Today Turkey and
Azerbaijan have reached a close unity and developing economically our
countries surely head towards the future. Azerbaijan is carrying out
international projects which will assist in strengthening stability and
security, economic development and integration of the region. Turkey
actively participates in all these global projects.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline,
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project form new stages of development in
the region. Consolidating our efforts regard to this and coordinating
our policies, we can fully ensure the economic interests of the two
countries. Currently commercial and economic relations between Turkey
and Azerbaijan are developing intensively, but yet it does not fully
reflect the existing potential - we should use this potential. There
are high-level relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. We have good
reliable relations with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. It
is not incidental that the newly elected President of Turkey,
Abdulla Gul, will make one of his official visits to Azerbaijan at
the beginning of next month.
- Recently it became known that the issue of opening borders between
Turkey and Armenia was on the agenda again. What do you think of this?
- You are well aware of current relations between Turkey and Armenia.
Obstacles to the development of relations between the two countries
are presented on the one hand and problems in the history of our
people on the other hand, by the conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia which resulted from Armenia's territorial claims against
Azerbaijan. In this situation, Turkish diplomacy seeks and tries to
find ways of dialogue with Armenia.
Recently participating at the General Assembly in New York, I met
with the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Vardan Oskanyan and I told him
that we are neighbors and we need to exist in the way of dialogue
and cooperation. We have historical problems, but we should try to
regulate our problems in a peaceful and civilized manner and should
look to the future.
- What role may Turkey play in regulating the conflict between
Azerbaijan and Turkey?
- We have knowledge of the history and real situation of the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We believe that in the near future
Azerbaijan and Armenia will find realistic potential chances to settle
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem peacefully. Turkey, as a fraternal
country of Azerbaijan, is prepared to act as a political mediator
to regulate the situation and achieve peace. We want our region
to become the region of peace, dialogue and welfare. We very much
want the 21st century to become the century of resolving conflicts,
but not the century of confrontation and war. We wish all problems
between the states, including territorial problems, to be resolved
through political talks and consensus. It is a fundamental thesis of
our foreign policy.
If we look through the foreign policy of Turkey, we can see relations
Turkey had with Greece ten years ago and have now. In addition, we had
problems with other neighboring countries. It is possible to speak of
Syrian-Turkish relations, where only confrontations were in existence
ten years ago, but today we are actively cooperating. We will apply
this conception in resolving problems between other countries. We
consider that the problems in Iraq, the Arabian-Israeli conflict and
the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict need to be politically resolved. We
highlight this at meetings with many State Heads and Foreign Ministers.
- What are you thinking of the prospects of regulating Arabian-Israeli
conflict within your diplomatic tour in the Near East?
- During my visit to the Near East, I am planning to visit nine
countries in this region. I have already been to Syria and held
talks in Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy. The visit was aimed at
determining how Turkey, as a large and influential country, can assist
in regulating historical Arabian-Israeli conflict. During the talks,
I became aware that there are many points of contact between Israel
and Palestine. In addition, I sent an invitation to the President of
Israel, Shimon Peres, to make an official visit to Turkey. We have very
good reliable relations with Israel and economic relations between the
two countries are growing each year. During my talks with the Prime
Minister of Israel and with the Chairman of Palestinian Autonomy,
Mahmud Abbas, I made sure that the sides are very decisively inclined
towards peace and dialogue. We believe that the Near Eastern conference
in Annapolis will be prepared very well and the countries attending
the conference will assist Israel and the Palestinian Autonomy in
achieving a peaceful agreement between the countries. Turkey, as a
country having historical roots in the Near East, hopes this very much.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress