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  • ANKARA: Army Links Border Opening With Karabakh

    ARMY LINKS BORDER OPENING WITH KARABAKH

    Hurriyet
    April 30 2009
    Turkey

    ISTANBUL - Chief of Staff says borders with Armenia should be opened
    after Armenia's withdrawal from occupied Azerbaijani territories. He
    also criticizes speculations of specific requests from the US about
    Afghanistan and Iraq, and says, 'The US did not put forward any
    specific request'

    Armenia's borders should be opened simultaneously with the withdrawal
    of Armenian forces from occupied Azeri territories, Chief of Staff
    Gen. Ä°lker BaÅ~_bug said in a press conference yesterday, revealing
    the military's views for the first time.

    He also said the United States did not make any specific requests
    from Ankara on Afghanistan or Iraq, but added that Turkey might
    increase its troop levels in Afghanistan provided that it maintains
    the same mission.

    Responding to questions from the press on the possibility of opening
    the borders with Armenia, BaÅ~_bug recalled Prime Minister Recep
    Tayyip Erdogan's statements that opening of the borders will be done
    simultaneously with the withdrawal of Armenian force from occupied
    Azerbaijani territory. "We share this view," said BaÅ~_bug.

    Turkey's grandeur BaÅ~_bug said the meeting he had with National
    Security Adviser James Jones, during U.S. President Barack Obama's
    visit to Turkey in early April was followed with talks with the
    U.S. chief of staff last Saturday. He criticized speculations that U.S
    officials are coming to Turkey for specific requests and said: "Maybe
    we are not aware of Turkey's grandeur. Turkey is being approached
    because there is a willingness to know what Turkey thinks and how
    Turkey evaluates developments."

    With special emphasis on the fact that there had been an exchange
    of views between both officials, BaÅ~_bug said, "The U.S. did not
    put forward any specific requests as far as withdrawal of its forces
    from Iraq."

    BaÅ~_bug pointed out that the responsibility fell upon the Iraqi
    central government, as well as the northern Iraqi administration
    to fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. "The local
    administration's active involvement in the elimination of the PKK is
    imperative. We must have concrete results this year," he said. BaÅ~_bug
    said Turkey grasped a historic opportunity this year to finish off
    the PKK.

    On Afghanistan, BaÅ~_bug said Turkey might increase its troop presence
    in Afghanistan when it will again assume the command of NATO forces in
    Kabul. Explaining that Turkey currently has 800 infantry soldiers based
    in Kabul as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance
    Force, or ISAF, BaÅ~_bug said that it will be Turkey's turn to assume
    the command of NATO forces in Kabul, which includes French and Italian
    troops. But as Italy and France are planning to move their forces to
    the south and east, there will be a vacuum. Although there will be a
    request to other alliance members to fill the vacuum, BaÅ~_bug said
    Turkey might as well picture an increase in its troop level. BaÅ~_bug
    said the Turkish contingent could be boosted after discussions with
    the bloc, but did not elaborate on numbers.

    He said Turkish soldiers did not and would not take part in security
    operations against Islamic insurgents or drug traffickers. "Our
    mission will be strictly the same: to ensure security in Kabul and
    its environs," the general said.

    Turkey, Syria drill BaÅ~_bug also dismissed Israel's reaction
    to a joint drill involving Turkish and Syrian soldiers. Israeli
    Defense Minister Ehud Barak called this week's exercise a worrisome
    development. BaÅ~_bug said he was "not concerned by Israel's reaction,"
    and Turkey wasn't seeking any other country's consent.

    The drill, the first-ever between Turkey and Syria, ends Wednesday and
    marks improvement in once strained ties between both countries. Turkey
    has long been Israel's closest ally in the Muslim world, but their
    ties deteriorated during the Gaza war over casualties among Palestinian
    civilians. Their military links have remained intact.

    The historical Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The issue of Nagorno-Karabakh
    goes back to the conflict from February 1988 to May 1994, in the
    small ethnic enclave in southwestern Azerbaijan, between local ethnic
    Armenians backed by Yerevan against the state of Azerbaijan. Both
    countries were formerly part of the Soviet Union. Ethnic violence
    broke out within the statelet after the autonomous parliament voted
    for Nagorno-Karabakh to be reunited with Armenia in 1988. Full-scale
    fighting erupted in the late winter of 1992. In the spring of 1993,
    Armenian forces captured regions outside the enclave itself, and by
    the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of
    most of the enclave and also held and currently control approximately
    9 percent of Azerbaijan's territory outside the area.
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