Tweet
BAKU-YEREVAN DIALOGUE WILL HELP NORMALIZATION, BABACAN
Hurriyet
Dec 2 2008
Turkey
ISTANBUL - Better ties between Turkey and Armenia would help resolve
the longstanding conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, said the Turkish
foreign minister yesterday.
"The normalisation of Turkish-Armenian relations would have a positive
impact on the Azerbaijan-Armenia talks over Nagorno-Karabakh,"
Ali Babacan told reporters after a meeting with his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Elmar Memmedyarov, in Baku.
The dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan has intensified through
the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe's, or OSCE,
Minsk process, Babacan added. "The fact that parts of Azerbaijani
territory are under Armenian occupation is a problem that needs to
be urgently addressed. Turkey, one of 11 members of the Minsk group,
attaches great importance to the process," he said and added he hoped
recent diplomatic traffic would yield results soon.
Caucasus platform proposal Babacan's visit came amid a push by Turkey
for more influence in the volatile Caucasus region, where Russia
and Georgia fought a brief war in August. After the conflict, Ankara
proposed the creation of a new forum for cooperation in the region,
for which Babacan called on regional governments to support. "All
the countries of the region must sit at the bargaining table," he said.
Before his departure for Azerbaijan late Sunday, Babacan told reporters
he would meet his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in Helsinki
at an OSCE meeting this week.
"There is an ongoing process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and there
is also a parallel process between Turkey and Armenia," Babacan was
quoted by the Anatolia News Agency as saying. "Following the OSCE
meeting, I will have separate meetings with the two ministers."
Babacan is expected to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia with his
Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts. Babacan also said there had
been no date set for a tripartite meeting of the ministers of Turkey,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
NATO meeting The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in
1988 due to 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. In
1994 Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time active hostilities ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has
been closed for more than a decade over Armenian aggression toward
Azerbaijan.
After Baku, Babacan will proceed to Brussels for the NATO foreign
ministers meeting.
Hurriyet
Dec 2 2008
Turkey
ISTANBUL - Better ties between Turkey and Armenia would help resolve
the longstanding conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, said the Turkish
foreign minister yesterday.
"The normalisation of Turkish-Armenian relations would have a positive
impact on the Azerbaijan-Armenia talks over Nagorno-Karabakh,"
Ali Babacan told reporters after a meeting with his Azerbaijani
counterpart, Elmar Memmedyarov, in Baku.
The dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan has intensified through
the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe's, or OSCE,
Minsk process, Babacan added. "The fact that parts of Azerbaijani
territory are under Armenian occupation is a problem that needs to
be urgently addressed. Turkey, one of 11 members of the Minsk group,
attaches great importance to the process," he said and added he hoped
recent diplomatic traffic would yield results soon.
Caucasus platform proposal Babacan's visit came amid a push by Turkey
for more influence in the volatile Caucasus region, where Russia
and Georgia fought a brief war in August. After the conflict, Ankara
proposed the creation of a new forum for cooperation in the region,
for which Babacan called on regional governments to support. "All
the countries of the region must sit at the bargaining table," he said.
Before his departure for Azerbaijan late Sunday, Babacan told reporters
he would meet his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in Helsinki
at an OSCE meeting this week.
"There is an ongoing process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and there
is also a parallel process between Turkey and Armenia," Babacan was
quoted by the Anatolia News Agency as saying. "Following the OSCE
meeting, I will have separate meetings with the two ministers."
Babacan is expected to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and the
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia with his
Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts. Babacan also said there had
been no date set for a tripartite meeting of the ministers of Turkey,
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
NATO meeting The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in
1988 due to 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. In
1994 Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time active hostilities ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
are currently holding peaceful negotiations.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has
been closed for more than a decade over Armenian aggression toward
Azerbaijan.
After Baku, Babacan will proceed to Brussels for the NATO foreign
ministers meeting.