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Envoy to Azerbaijan says WikiLeaks won't put strain on relations
06 December 2010, Monday
LAMIYA ADILGIZI, BAKU
Turkey's ambassador to Azerbaijan, Hulusi Kilic, has told reporters
that Turkish-Azerbaijani relations will not be affected by the recent
release of sensitive US diplomatic cables that have sparked a global
reaction.
`I don't think that information published on WikiLeaks will negatively
effect Azerbaijan-Turkey cooperation,' Kilic said just a day after
Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
denied there was any truth to the content of the secret cables
regarding Aliyev's alleged statements during their meetings in Astana.
Cables leaked by WikiLeaks late last Sunday revealed that Aliyev had
expressed distaste toward Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's
government, calling Turkish foreign policy `naive' and its initiatives
a `failure.' The Azerbaijani side asserted that Aliyev did not speak
of third countries during his meetings with US administration
officials. `Aliyev, as a rule, does not usually talk about third
countries in his meetings,' said Novruz Mammadov, the head of
international relations at the Azerbaijan Presidential Administration.
Aliyev also denied making any of the remarks critical of Turkish
leadership which were released by WikiLeaks during his meeting with
Gul in Astana on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit. Gul then told reporters that
Aliyev expressed his dismay over the content of the cables and he
responded that the Turkish leadership did not believe in the accuracy
of these cables.
Ties between Azerbaijan and Turkey had become strained after the
latter took a bold and brave step to reconcile with Armenia to end
decades of hostilities at the expense of alienating Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan expressed its discontent toward the reconciliation between
Turkey and Armenia, which also included the opening of the borders,
which Azerbaijan declared to be `conflicting with its national
interests.'
Speaking about the historic and strategic relationship between
Azerbaijan and Turkey, Kilic said Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are
not so vulnerable that they will be adversely affected by the
WikiLeaks releases. `The released WikiLeaks cables cannot harm close
Azerbaijani-Turkish relations,' Kilic concluded.
Meanwhile, Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan deplored the speculations on
Friday that it has any affiliation with former press attache of
Turkish embassy in Baku, Turgut Er, following his much-cited and
controversial book on Azerbaijan.
The embassy said although Turkish embassy does not hold the view
written in the book, it caused a concern. It said statements in the
book by Er is his personal views, reiterating its respect to former
late President Haydar Aliyev, whom Er was very critical in his book.
Er was previously declared as `persona non grata' in Azerbaijan by
Aliyev, accused of helping coup attempts in mid-1990s against the
government. Er's recently published book in Turkey has caused a wide
outrage in Azerbaijan rather than Turkey, but observers say the book
is an incendiary, ill-intentioned and provocative and is aimed to
cause relations between the two countries deteriorate.
From: A. Papazian
Envoy to Azerbaijan says WikiLeaks won't put strain on relations
06 December 2010, Monday
LAMIYA ADILGIZI, BAKU
Turkey's ambassador to Azerbaijan, Hulusi Kilic, has told reporters
that Turkish-Azerbaijani relations will not be affected by the recent
release of sensitive US diplomatic cables that have sparked a global
reaction.
`I don't think that information published on WikiLeaks will negatively
effect Azerbaijan-Turkey cooperation,' Kilic said just a day after
Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
denied there was any truth to the content of the secret cables
regarding Aliyev's alleged statements during their meetings in Astana.
Cables leaked by WikiLeaks late last Sunday revealed that Aliyev had
expressed distaste toward Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's
government, calling Turkish foreign policy `naive' and its initiatives
a `failure.' The Azerbaijani side asserted that Aliyev did not speak
of third countries during his meetings with US administration
officials. `Aliyev, as a rule, does not usually talk about third
countries in his meetings,' said Novruz Mammadov, the head of
international relations at the Azerbaijan Presidential Administration.
Aliyev also denied making any of the remarks critical of Turkish
leadership which were released by WikiLeaks during his meeting with
Gul in Astana on the sidelines of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit. Gul then told reporters that
Aliyev expressed his dismay over the content of the cables and he
responded that the Turkish leadership did not believe in the accuracy
of these cables.
Ties between Azerbaijan and Turkey had become strained after the
latter took a bold and brave step to reconcile with Armenia to end
decades of hostilities at the expense of alienating Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan expressed its discontent toward the reconciliation between
Turkey and Armenia, which also included the opening of the borders,
which Azerbaijan declared to be `conflicting with its national
interests.'
Speaking about the historic and strategic relationship between
Azerbaijan and Turkey, Kilic said Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are
not so vulnerable that they will be adversely affected by the
WikiLeaks releases. `The released WikiLeaks cables cannot harm close
Azerbaijani-Turkish relations,' Kilic concluded.
Meanwhile, Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan deplored the speculations on
Friday that it has any affiliation with former press attache of
Turkish embassy in Baku, Turgut Er, following his much-cited and
controversial book on Azerbaijan.
The embassy said although Turkish embassy does not hold the view
written in the book, it caused a concern. It said statements in the
book by Er is his personal views, reiterating its respect to former
late President Haydar Aliyev, whom Er was very critical in his book.
Er was previously declared as `persona non grata' in Azerbaijan by
Aliyev, accused of helping coup attempts in mid-1990s against the
government. Er's recently published book in Turkey has caused a wide
outrage in Azerbaijan rather than Turkey, but observers say the book
is an incendiary, ill-intentioned and provocative and is aimed to
cause relations between the two countries deteriorate.
From: A. Papazian