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ANKARA: PM Erdogan Seeks Azerbaijani Support For Caucasus Alliance

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  • ANKARA: PM Erdogan Seeks Azerbaijani Support For Caucasus Alliance

    PM ERDOGAN SEEKS AZERBAIJANI SUPPORT FOR CAUCASUS ALLIANCE

    Today's Zaman
    Aug 21 2008
    Turkey

    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Azerbaijani President
    Ilham Aliyev yesterday to seek Baku's support for a proposed
    cooperation platform for the Caucasus that Ankara says will also
    include Azerbaijan's enemy Armenia.

    Erdogan, speaking before his departure to Baku for a one-day visit,
    reiterated once again that there will be talks with Armenia on the
    proposed Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform. The proposal
    is still in the preparatory stage but diplomats say it is envisaged
    to start as a regional economic cooperation platform before tackling
    issues of conflict. Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
    are planned to be members of the initiative, which was proposed after a
    regional crisis erupted following a Georgian military offensive in its
    Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia earlier this month.

    But with Armenia and Azerbaijan in a state of enmity due to Armenia's
    continued occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, observers
    say a regional alliance including both countries as members may be
    difficult to implement.

    With Armenian troops still in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani leadership
    is unlikely to warm to any sort of cooperation with Yerevan.

    Speaking at a joint press conference with Aliyev, Erdogan did not refer
    to Armenia and said instead Turkey was willing to further cooperation
    with Azerbaijan and Georgia for peace and stability in the Caucasus. He
    also said the Nagorno-Karabakh problem should be resolved on the
    basis of principles of international law and through peaceful ways.

    Aliyev, for his part, thanked Turkey for its supportive stance.

    In initial reaction to the Turkish plans to involve Armenia in the
    Caucasus talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said
    Yerevan welcomed the Turkish initiative. "Armenia was always in
    favor of dialogue and talks, particularly on the issues concerning
    cooperation and security in our region. The Turkish prime minister's
    statement on the intention to start talks with Armenia on this agenda
    could be welcomed," he was quoted as saying in a statement to Today's
    Zaman yesterday.

    It is not clear what shape the planned talks with Armenia will
    take. Turkey severed its ties with Armenia in the early 1990s in
    protest of the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. According to
    official Turkish policy, normalization of ties depends on Armenian
    withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, the termination of the Armenian
    policy of supporting claims of an Armenian genocide at the hands of
    the late Ottoman Empire and an official endorsement by Armenia of
    the current borders between the two countries.

    But signs have appeared recently that there could be a rapprochement
    between the two countries. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan invited
    his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to a World Cup qualifying
    match between the national soccer teams of the two countries in
    September. Gul says he is still considering the invitation. Turkish
    diplomats have also confirmed recent reports that Turkish and Armenian
    diplomats had secret talks to discuss normalization of ties.

    Erdogan said details concerning talks with Armenia will be clearer
    after Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, who accompanied him during the
    visit to Baku, has talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
    this week. He did not say where or exactly when the meeting will
    take place.

    Erdogan has already visited Georgia and Russia to promote the proposed
    Caucasus platform and both countries have said they would welcome the
    idea. The proposal is not designed to end hostilities between Georgia
    and Russia, which invaded part of Georgian territory in response to
    Georgia's South Ossetia offensive. It is a rather long-term initiative
    to provide a platform for regional countries to resolve crises through
    a conflict resolution mechanism that diplomats are still working on. In
    Baku, he said he won backing from Baku for the proposed alliance as
    well. "We are pleased that Azerbaijan is taking a positive approach
    to our proposal," he said at the joint press conference with Aliyev.

    US 'surprised' over Caucasus proposal

    Despite assurances of support from the regional countries, Erdogan's
    proposal for a Caucasus cooperation platform appears to have received
    a lukewarm response from Washington. "I must say I was surprised,"
    Matt Bryza, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for European
    affairs, was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency at a meeting
    with journalists at the State Department.

    The government's plans to improve dialogue with Armenia as part of
    the Caucasus proposal are not popular at home either. In remarks
    published yesterday, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)
    leader Deniz Baykal warned the government against alienating Azerbaijan
    for better ties with Armenia.

    "Armenia is neither giving up backing genocide claims nor withdrawing
    from Azerbaijani territory. But Turkey still wants to take some
    steps [for dialogue]," Baykal was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet
    daily. "Azerbaijan is a brother nation that we should never offend. Our
    commercial ties will further expand by cooperation in natural gas
    and oil. Azerbaijan should never be offended while [Turkey] seeks
    dialogue with Armenia," he said.
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