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BABACAN DISCUSSES ARMENIA VISIT, CAUCASUS WITH RICE
Today's Zaman
Sept 12 2008
Turkey
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan initiated a telephone conversation with
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday evening during
which the two discussed recent developments in the Caucasus.
Earlier on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon telephoned
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the two also discussed the
recent developments in the Caucasus in the aftermath of a brief war
between Russia and Georgia last month.
Babacan briefed Rice on a recent visit paid by President Abdullah
Gul to Yerevan to watch a World Cup qualifying match between the
national teams of the two countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Burak Ozugergin yesterday told the Anatolia news agency. Babacan
accompanied Gul during the landmark visit, which took place at the
invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and which made Gul
the first Turkish president to visit Yerevan since Armenia became
independent in 1991.
Ozugergin said that during his conversation with Rice, the foreign
minister reiterated Ankara's support for the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Process which aims to find
a political solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will have a positive impact
on Turkish-Armenian relations, Babacan also told Rice, Ozugergin said.
In response, Rice said the US has found Turkey's efforts within this
framework "meaningful" and that Washington would lend support to
these efforts, the spokesperson added.
As for the conversation between Ban and Erdogan, Anatolia said,
citing anonymous sources, that the UN secretary-general expressed
appreciation over Ankara's initiative for establishing a Caucasus
Stability and Cooperation Platform, a scheme that is planned to bring
together Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The initiative aiming at resolving regional disputes came following
last month's war between Georgia and Russia.
In response, Erdogan told Ban that Turkey would continue its efforts
for contributing to regional stability, Anatolia reported.
Today's Zaman
Sept 12 2008
Turkey
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan initiated a telephone conversation with
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday evening during
which the two discussed recent developments in the Caucasus.
Earlier on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon telephoned
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the two also discussed the
recent developments in the Caucasus in the aftermath of a brief war
between Russia and Georgia last month.
Babacan briefed Rice on a recent visit paid by President Abdullah
Gul to Yerevan to watch a World Cup qualifying match between the
national teams of the two countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Burak Ozugergin yesterday told the Anatolia news agency. Babacan
accompanied Gul during the landmark visit, which took place at the
invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and which made Gul
the first Turkish president to visit Yerevan since Armenia became
independent in 1991.
Ozugergin said that during his conversation with Rice, the foreign
minister reiterated Ankara's support for the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Process which aims to find
a political solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will have a positive impact
on Turkish-Armenian relations, Babacan also told Rice, Ozugergin said.
In response, Rice said the US has found Turkey's efforts within this
framework "meaningful" and that Washington would lend support to
these efforts, the spokesperson added.
As for the conversation between Ban and Erdogan, Anatolia said,
citing anonymous sources, that the UN secretary-general expressed
appreciation over Ankara's initiative for establishing a Caucasus
Stability and Cooperation Platform, a scheme that is planned to bring
together Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The initiative aiming at resolving regional disputes came following
last month's war between Georgia and Russia.
In response, Erdogan told Ban that Turkey would continue its efforts
for contributing to regional stability, Anatolia reported.