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EYES ON ALMATY TALKS FOR KARABAKH, TURKISH-ARMENIAN DIALOGUE
Today's Zaman
July 15 2010
Turkey
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu may meet with his Armenian
counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, on the sidelines of an international
gathering that begins today in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The informal meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is also expected to be a
setting for key talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia concerning their
territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
News reports have said Nalbandian and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov will discuss a possible Armenian withdrawal from
the Lachin and Kelbajar provinces, which are the only link between
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, during the gathering. Any breakthrough on
the protracted dispute of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian
populated territory occupied by Armenia in the early 1990s, could
also lead to progress in the stalled efforts to normalize relations
between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkey and Armenia sealed historic twin reconciliation protocols in
Zurich last October, but the process was stalled amid Azerbaijani
opposition to any Turkish-Armenian rapprochement as long as the
stalemate in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute persisted. Turkey related its
reconciliation with Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue immediately
after it signed the protocols, further complicating the painstaking
process.
Turkish officials said Davutoglu will hold meetings with foreign
counterparts on the sidelines of the two-day OSCE gathering but did
not say whether a meeting with Nalbandian was one of them. Davutoglu
is also expected to meet with Mammadyarov.
"Mr. Minister [Davutoglu] will have bilateral talks while in Almaty.
However, those meetings are not yet scheduled," Turkish diplomatic
sources told Today's Zaman yesterday, when asked whether Davutoglu
would have talks with Nalbandian and Mammadyarov. Armenian news portal
Panorama reported on Thursday that Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Tigran Balayan said, "At this moment, no meeting between the Armenian
and Turkish foreign ministers has been scheduled in Almaty."
On the sidelines of the Almaty gathering, the OSCE Minsk Group, which
has been trying to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan for 15 years now, will also hold a
meeting. Nalbandian and Mammadyarov are both expected to participate
in the Minsk Group's meeting, officials stated. The Azernews news
portal quoted Mammadyarov last week as saying Azerbaijan and Armenia
have already agreed to an Armenian withdrawal from five provinces
adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh and that this issue will no longer be
discussed. According to the Azerbaijani foreign minister, once a
peace accord is signed between the nations, Armenia will immediately
withdraw from the occupied regions, while Kelbajar and Lachin must
be returned within five years.
"We have already agreed to the terms that Armenia returns Lachin
and Kelbajar to Azerbaijan in five years," Mammadyarov told a news
conference in Baku yesterday, adding that this principle is also
included in the Madrid Principles. Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan
thought it agreed with Armenia on this issue, yet the Armenian side
kept bringing this issue up in the foreign ministers' St. Petersburg
meeting. According to Mammadyarov, Armenia's approach in raising
concluded matters further prolongs the solution of the conflict.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
July 15 2010
Turkey
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu may meet with his Armenian
counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, on the sidelines of an international
gathering that begins today in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The informal meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is also expected to be a
setting for key talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia concerning their
territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
News reports have said Nalbandian and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov will discuss a possible Armenian withdrawal from
the Lachin and Kelbajar provinces, which are the only link between
Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, during the gathering. Any breakthrough on
the protracted dispute of Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian
populated territory occupied by Armenia in the early 1990s, could
also lead to progress in the stalled efforts to normalize relations
between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkey and Armenia sealed historic twin reconciliation protocols in
Zurich last October, but the process was stalled amid Azerbaijani
opposition to any Turkish-Armenian rapprochement as long as the
stalemate in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute persisted. Turkey related its
reconciliation with Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue immediately
after it signed the protocols, further complicating the painstaking
process.
Turkish officials said Davutoglu will hold meetings with foreign
counterparts on the sidelines of the two-day OSCE gathering but did
not say whether a meeting with Nalbandian was one of them. Davutoglu
is also expected to meet with Mammadyarov.
"Mr. Minister [Davutoglu] will have bilateral talks while in Almaty.
However, those meetings are not yet scheduled," Turkish diplomatic
sources told Today's Zaman yesterday, when asked whether Davutoglu
would have talks with Nalbandian and Mammadyarov. Armenian news portal
Panorama reported on Thursday that Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Tigran Balayan said, "At this moment, no meeting between the Armenian
and Turkish foreign ministers has been scheduled in Almaty."
On the sidelines of the Almaty gathering, the OSCE Minsk Group, which
has been trying to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan for 15 years now, will also hold a
meeting. Nalbandian and Mammadyarov are both expected to participate
in the Minsk Group's meeting, officials stated. The Azernews news
portal quoted Mammadyarov last week as saying Azerbaijan and Armenia
have already agreed to an Armenian withdrawal from five provinces
adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh and that this issue will no longer be
discussed. According to the Azerbaijani foreign minister, once a
peace accord is signed between the nations, Armenia will immediately
withdraw from the occupied regions, while Kelbajar and Lachin must
be returned within five years.
"We have already agreed to the terms that Armenia returns Lachin
and Kelbajar to Azerbaijan in five years," Mammadyarov told a news
conference in Baku yesterday, adding that this principle is also
included in the Madrid Principles. Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan
thought it agreed with Armenia on this issue, yet the Armenian side
kept bringing this issue up in the foreign ministers' St. Petersburg
meeting. According to Mammadyarov, Armenia's approach in raising
concluded matters further prolongs the solution of the conflict.
From: A. Papazian