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TURKEY, ARMENIA AND AZERBAIJAN TO HOLD NEW TALKS
Javno.hr
Nov 12 2008
Croatia
Nagorno-Karabakh`s ethnic Armenian population broke away from
Azerbaijan in a war as the Soviet Union fell apart.
Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a three-way meeting
to settle long-standing disputes in the Caucasus, Turkey's foreign
minister said on Wednesday.
Turkey and Armenia have no formal diplomatic relations. Armenia and
Azerbaijan are at odds over disputed territory.
Several oil and natural gas pipelines flow through the Caucasus to
Western Europe.
The three foreign ministers had met on the sidelines of the
U.N. General Assembly in September.
"There is consensus to repeat the trilateral meeting ... but the
schedule for that should be determined carefully so that concrete
results can be taken," Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said.
Babacan said he planned to visit Azerbaijan. Aremenia's foreign
minister would visit Turkey as part of "busy diplomatic traffic".
"We hope to see positive developments in a plausible timeframe and
to solve these decades-old problems," Babacan said.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of
solidarity with Azerbaijan, a Turkic-speaking ally which was fighting
Armenian-backed separatists over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian population broke away from
Azerbaijan in a war as the Soviet Union fell apart.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have never signed a peace treaty, and Azerbaijan
has not ruled out using force to restore control over the territory.
Relations between Turkey and Armenia are strained by accusations
Ottoman Turks committed genocide when they killed ethnic Armenians
in World War One.
Russia has been pushing for Armenia and Azerbaijan to negotiate over
Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey's Babacan praised Moscow's role.
"We expect Russia to make important contributions for the normalisation
of Azeri-Armenian relations," he said.
President Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit
Armenia in September for a soccer match between Turkey and Armenia,
and Babacan said the two could meet again soon.
"There is no need to wait for another football game for a meeting
between (Armenian President Serzh) Sarksyan and Gul. I expect that
such a meeting could take place within months."
Javno.hr
Nov 12 2008
Croatia
Nagorno-Karabakh`s ethnic Armenian population broke away from
Azerbaijan in a war as the Soviet Union fell apart.
Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to a three-way meeting
to settle long-standing disputes in the Caucasus, Turkey's foreign
minister said on Wednesday.
Turkey and Armenia have no formal diplomatic relations. Armenia and
Azerbaijan are at odds over disputed territory.
Several oil and natural gas pipelines flow through the Caucasus to
Western Europe.
The three foreign ministers had met on the sidelines of the
U.N. General Assembly in September.
"There is consensus to repeat the trilateral meeting ... but the
schedule for that should be determined carefully so that concrete
results can be taken," Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said.
Babacan said he planned to visit Azerbaijan. Aremenia's foreign
minister would visit Turkey as part of "busy diplomatic traffic".
"We hope to see positive developments in a plausible timeframe and
to solve these decades-old problems," Babacan said.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of
solidarity with Azerbaijan, a Turkic-speaking ally which was fighting
Armenian-backed separatists over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian population broke away from
Azerbaijan in a war as the Soviet Union fell apart.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have never signed a peace treaty, and Azerbaijan
has not ruled out using force to restore control over the territory.
Relations between Turkey and Armenia are strained by accusations
Ottoman Turks committed genocide when they killed ethnic Armenians
in World War One.
Russia has been pushing for Armenia and Azerbaijan to negotiate over
Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey's Babacan praised Moscow's role.
"We expect Russia to make important contributions for the normalisation
of Azeri-Armenian relations," he said.
President Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit
Armenia in September for a soccer match between Turkey and Armenia,
and Babacan said the two could meet again soon.
"There is no need to wait for another football game for a meeting
between (Armenian President Serzh) Sarksyan and Gul. I expect that
such a meeting could take place within months."