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Abdullah Gul Going To Visit Azerbaijan Shortly

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  • Abdullah Gul Going To Visit Azerbaijan Shortly

    ABDULLAH GUL GOING TO VISIT AZERBAIJAN SHORTLY

    ArmInfo
    2009-04-21 16:14:00

    President Gul is expected to visit Baku to inform the Azerbaijani
    administration about the decisions Turkey has made regarding
    normalization with Armenia.

    Today's Zaman reported that The National Security Council (MGK)
    will convene to discuss three critical issues -- the developments
    in neighboring Iraq and a possible amnesty for the members of the
    outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the normalization of relations
    with Armenia and the deployment of Turkish troops in Afghanistan --
    in its April 28 meeting,

    The second item on the agenda of the MGK will be Turkish-Armenian
    relations and the Azerbaijani reaction against the possible opening
    of Turkish-Armenian border.

    'Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity
    with Azerbaijan, which was then fighting a war with Armenia over
    Nagorno-Karabakh, but ended up losing the Armenian-dominated enclave as
    well as the surrounding region -- almost 20 percent of Azerbaijan's
    territory. Until recently, Ankara said Armenian withdrawal from
    Nagorno- Karabakh, or at least the region surrounding it, is a
    precondition for the restoration of ties with Yerevan. But now Ankara
    is engaged in closed-door negotiations with Armenia to normalize
    relations. The General Staff and the government agree that Turkey
    should not open its border with Armenia without the settlement of
    the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. As the first step for normalization,
    Ankara has asked Yerevan to allow Azerbaijanis who were displaced
    from five settlements in Karabakh to return to these places.

    The formation of a security corridor in Karabakh is among the proposals
    of the Turkish government', the newspaper reported.

    'If Armenia decides to take a step forward regarding the Azerbaijani
    refugees, Turkey will initially open the Turkish-Armenia border once
    a month and then twice a month. Once there are established ties with
    Armenia and the area is secure, the border gate will be open 24 hours
    a day.

    Following the MGK meeting, President Gul is expected to visit Baku
    to inform the Azerbaijani administration about the decisions Turkey
    has made regarding normalization with Armenia', Today's Zaman reported.
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