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TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN LEAVE DISPUTES BEHIND
Hurriyet
Dec 25 2009
Turkey
Turkey and Azerbaijan left behind the disputes over reconciliation
with Armenia and agreed to launch new joint projects, especially in
energy Ahmet Davutoglu and Elmar Mammadyarov.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Azerbaijani counterpart,
Elmar Mammadyarov, said they had left all disputes behind at a joint
press conference Friday in Ankara, adding that new joint energy
projects are in the works.
Paying his first official visit to Ankara, Mammadyarov became the first
official guest hosted by Davutoglu at his residence. "It shows how
special Azerbaijan is in our heart," said Turkey's foreign minister.
Turkey and Azerbaijan were at odds due to the reconciliation process
with Armenia although they have long described their alliance as
"one nation but two states."
"There is no more misunderstanding between Azerbaijan and Turkey,"
Davutoglu said. "We've been in consultation as a family," stressing
the country's historical ties.
Mammadyarov backed the Turkish minister. "I agree 100 percent with
what [Davutoglu] said. As two brothers, we have been openly discussing
all matters," he said.
Turkey had closed its border with Armenia in solidarity with Azerbaijan
after Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan, was occupied in the
early 1990s.
According to Baku, Yerevan, which has long suffered from economic
problems, might not agree to withdraw from Karabakh unless Ankara
provides economic relief through cross-border trade and investments.
Ankara, however, has said normalization between Armenia and Turkey
would trigger a settlement on the Azerbaijan-Armenia issue.
"We keep in touch thanks to face-to-face talks at international
meetings and daily phone calls. We have never stopped consulting,"
Davutoglu said in highlighting the solidarity between the two allies.
"We give full support for efforts to end occupation of Azerbaijani
territory," said Davutoglu, adding that it was the only way to
establish regional peace and stability.
The Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States,
has so far failed to find a settlement by mediating the negotiations
between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the last 17 years.
In a call to the group, Davutoglu said, "They should do their best
in order not miss the peace opportunity that we're nearing."
Joint projects and investments may emerge as the Turkish-Azerbaijani
Joint Economic Committee will soon convene in Baku, Davutoglu said.
"We have once more confirmed that Turkey and Azerbaijan will work
together on Eurasian energy projects," he said.
For his part, Mammadyarov described the talks as "productive" and said,
"We have compromised on all problems."
Confirming that natural gas-related energy projects are promising
new opportunities, Mammadyarov said: "We believe we share a promising
future. We can cooperate on natural gas projects. We can work together
on big projects like Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan."
Despite the assurances of his Turkish colleague, Mammadyarov expressed
his worries about the Karabakh conflict: "The biggest threat and
problem is our occupied lands of Karabakh. We believe that Turkey
will play an active role to find a solution."
Visa exemption agreement postponed
Officials earlier announced that Davutoglu and Mammadyarov would sign
a visa exemption agreement. However, the two ministers postponed the
signature ceremony because Azerbaijani diplomats said the bureaucratic
procedures had not yet been completed.
Hurriyet
Dec 25 2009
Turkey
Turkey and Azerbaijan left behind the disputes over reconciliation
with Armenia and agreed to launch new joint projects, especially in
energy Ahmet Davutoglu and Elmar Mammadyarov.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Azerbaijani counterpart,
Elmar Mammadyarov, said they had left all disputes behind at a joint
press conference Friday in Ankara, adding that new joint energy
projects are in the works.
Paying his first official visit to Ankara, Mammadyarov became the first
official guest hosted by Davutoglu at his residence. "It shows how
special Azerbaijan is in our heart," said Turkey's foreign minister.
Turkey and Azerbaijan were at odds due to the reconciliation process
with Armenia although they have long described their alliance as
"one nation but two states."
"There is no more misunderstanding between Azerbaijan and Turkey,"
Davutoglu said. "We've been in consultation as a family," stressing
the country's historical ties.
Mammadyarov backed the Turkish minister. "I agree 100 percent with
what [Davutoglu] said. As two brothers, we have been openly discussing
all matters," he said.
Turkey had closed its border with Armenia in solidarity with Azerbaijan
after Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan, was occupied in the
early 1990s.
According to Baku, Yerevan, which has long suffered from economic
problems, might not agree to withdraw from Karabakh unless Ankara
provides economic relief through cross-border trade and investments.
Ankara, however, has said normalization between Armenia and Turkey
would trigger a settlement on the Azerbaijan-Armenia issue.
"We keep in touch thanks to face-to-face talks at international
meetings and daily phone calls. We have never stopped consulting,"
Davutoglu said in highlighting the solidarity between the two allies.
"We give full support for efforts to end occupation of Azerbaijani
territory," said Davutoglu, adding that it was the only way to
establish regional peace and stability.
The Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States,
has so far failed to find a settlement by mediating the negotiations
between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the last 17 years.
In a call to the group, Davutoglu said, "They should do their best
in order not miss the peace opportunity that we're nearing."
Joint projects and investments may emerge as the Turkish-Azerbaijani
Joint Economic Committee will soon convene in Baku, Davutoglu said.
"We have once more confirmed that Turkey and Azerbaijan will work
together on Eurasian energy projects," he said.
For his part, Mammadyarov described the talks as "productive" and said,
"We have compromised on all problems."
Confirming that natural gas-related energy projects are promising
new opportunities, Mammadyarov said: "We believe we share a promising
future. We can cooperate on natural gas projects. We can work together
on big projects like Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan."
Despite the assurances of his Turkish colleague, Mammadyarov expressed
his worries about the Karabakh conflict: "The biggest threat and
problem is our occupied lands of Karabakh. We believe that Turkey
will play an active role to find a solution."
Visa exemption agreement postponed
Officials earlier announced that Davutoglu and Mammadyarov would sign
a visa exemption agreement. However, the two ministers postponed the
signature ceremony because Azerbaijani diplomats said the bureaucratic
procedures had not yet been completed.