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ANKARA: Normalization Of Turkish-Armenia Relations To Help Nagorno-K

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  • ANKARA: Normalization Of Turkish-Armenia Relations To Help Nagorno-K

    NORMALIZATION OF TURKISH-ARMENIA RELATIONS TO HELP NAGORNO-KARABAKH

    Hurriyet
    Dec 1 2008
    Turkey

    The normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations would help to resolve
    the longstanding Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and
    Armenia, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said during a visit to
    Baku. (UPDATED)

    "The normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations would have a positive
    impact on the Azerbaijan-Armenia talks over Nagorno-Karabakh," he
    was quoted by AFP as saying at a press conference following his talks
    with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.

    The Turkish foreign minister said problems should be solved through
    diplomacy and peaceful means.

    "Some of the territories of Azerbaijan are under the occupation of
    Armenia, which is an important problem that needs to be solved,"
    the Anatolian Agency quoted him as saying.

    "Our goal is not to leave a problem to future generations, but to
    leave a better and more prosperous Caucasus that lives in peace and
    order," he said.

    Babacan said that it was difficult to ensure real peace and stability
    in the Caucasus as long as problems were not solved. "A real welfare
    can be ensured after real peace and stability are assured," he said.

    He added Turkey would always stand by Azerbaijan in the region.

    Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has
    been closed for more than a decade over Armenia's aggression over
    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.

    Some 10 percent of the Azeri population was displaced due to a
    series of bloody clashes both between and within the two neighboring
    countries.

    In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
    time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
    Group are currently holding peaceful negotiations.

    Mammadyarov told the conference that Babacan and he agreed to continue
    talks on Turkey's proposal to set up a platform on stability and
    cooperation in the Caucasus.

    Babacan also met Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Oktay Esadov and
    President Ilham Aliyev. He is scheduled to also have a meeting with
    Prime Minister Artur Rasizade.

    Babacan's visit came amid a push by Turkey for more influence in the
    volatile Caucasus region after a bloody conflict between Russia and
    Georgia in August.

    After the conflict, Ankara proposed creating a new forum for
    cooperation in the region, which Babacan called for regional
    governments to support.

    "All the countries of the region must sit at the bargaining table,"
    he said.

    But Azerbaijani media and some officials have raised concerns that
    Ankara's recent overtures to Yerevan could see it re-open the border
    and lift its embargo, easing international pressure on Armenia to give
    up control of Karabakh and other territories seized from Azerbaijan,
    AFP reported.

    HELSINKI MEETINGS Babacan said that he would meet Azerbaijani and
    Armenian foreign ministers in Helsinki at a meeting of the Organization
    for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) this week.

    Before his departure for Azerbaijan late Sunday, Babacan told reporters
    in Ankara that he would hold talks in Azerbaijan's capital Baku and
    then proceed to Brussels for a NATO ministerial meeting.

    The Turkish foreign minister said he would later travel to Finland's
    capital Helsinki for a meeting of the OSCE from Brussels.

    "There is an ongoing process between Azerbaijan and Armenia. And also
    there is a parallel process between Turkey and Armenia," Babacan was
    quoted by Anatolian Agency as saying.

    "Azeri and Armenian foreign ministers will come together on the
    sidelines of an OSCE meeting together with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,"
    he added.

    "Following this meeting, I will have separate meetings with the two
    ministers," he also said.

    Babacan is expected to discuss crucial issues, including the
    Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the normalization of relations between
    Turkey and Armenia with his Azeri and Armenian counterparts.

    The Turkish foreign minister also said there was no date set for a
    tripartite meeting of the ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
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