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'NOTHING CAN NEGATIVELY AFFECT TURKISH-AZERBAIJANI BROTHERHOOD'
news.az
Nov 2 2010
Azerbaijan
"Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, as far as I can see, are bound to
continue, grow and intensify in new global, political, economic and
cultural order.
There will be a continuation of solidarity with respect to primary
foreign policy objectives," stated H.E. Unal Cevikoz, Ambassador of
Turkey to the UK. The comments were made during a meeting entitled
Azerbaijan and Turkey: Redefining the Parameters of the Relationship on
25 October in the Burton Room of the Institute of Directors, London,
during an event organised by The European Azerbaijan Society.
The Society says that speaking before a capacity audience of 80
delegates from business, international diplomacy, NGOs and friends
of Azerbaijan, Ambassador Cevikoz spoke about the existing bilateral
relations.
Confining himself to charting the relationship from the early 20th
Century, he explained how the Caucasus Islamic Army, commanded by
Nuri Pasha, fought to liberate the city in 1918. This led to the
establishment of the first democratic, independent Azerbaijani
republic.
The Ambassador then described the linguistic, religious and cultural
links between the two countries, recalling that Heydar Aliyev, former
Azerbaijani President, considered the relationship to be represented
by the phrase: "single nation, two states."
Ambassador Cevikoz referred to the post-independence relationship
as having three phases - an emotional period, reuniting two Turkic
nations (1991-93); a decade when strategic partnerships were developed
(1993-2003); and the maturity era (since 2003).
With regard to the 'strategic decade', the Ambassador explained
that the understanding between President Heydar Aliyev and the
former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel was "a relationship
between equals." He also commented that: "Turkey has also been an
ardent supporter of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, defending
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution in accordance with these norms."
Ambassador Cevikoz concluded with a consideration of relations
since 2003, explaining that the 9/11 terrorist attacks have forced
the Caucasus off the news agenda, and hence the Nagorno-Karabakh
situation had been allowed to stagnate. However, Azerbaijan is now
viewed as playing an essential geopolitical role regarding the Afghan
struggle, with the US elevating it to a position on the world stage. He
also explained that Azerbaijani-Turkish trade volume, including the
operations of the BTC pipeline, had increased from $250m to $1bn
during 2001-09.
His Excellency stressed that the Turkish-Armenian protocols,
signed last year, had no lasting impact on the two Turkic nations'
relationship, commenting: "I will simply underline that, nothing
can negatively affect the Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood and
understanding." He went on to illustrate this fact by citing the
Agreement on Strategic Partnership and Mutual Assistance, signed
between President Aliyev and Turkish President Gul in August;
energy agreements ratified by the Turkish BOTAS and Azerbaijani SOCAR
companies; and the recent strategic agreement signed during the Summit
of Turkic-speaking Countries.
This thought-provoking presentation led to a lively question-and-answer
session, with questions being posed by Dennis Sammut, LINKS; Craig
Oliphant, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Harold Formstone, former
UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan; and Lord Kilclooney, amongst others.
From: A. Papazian
news.az
Nov 2 2010
Azerbaijan
"Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, as far as I can see, are bound to
continue, grow and intensify in new global, political, economic and
cultural order.
There will be a continuation of solidarity with respect to primary
foreign policy objectives," stated H.E. Unal Cevikoz, Ambassador of
Turkey to the UK. The comments were made during a meeting entitled
Azerbaijan and Turkey: Redefining the Parameters of the Relationship on
25 October in the Burton Room of the Institute of Directors, London,
during an event organised by The European Azerbaijan Society.
The Society says that speaking before a capacity audience of 80
delegates from business, international diplomacy, NGOs and friends
of Azerbaijan, Ambassador Cevikoz spoke about the existing bilateral
relations.
Confining himself to charting the relationship from the early 20th
Century, he explained how the Caucasus Islamic Army, commanded by
Nuri Pasha, fought to liberate the city in 1918. This led to the
establishment of the first democratic, independent Azerbaijani
republic.
The Ambassador then described the linguistic, religious and cultural
links between the two countries, recalling that Heydar Aliyev, former
Azerbaijani President, considered the relationship to be represented
by the phrase: "single nation, two states."
Ambassador Cevikoz referred to the post-independence relationship
as having three phases - an emotional period, reuniting two Turkic
nations (1991-93); a decade when strategic partnerships were developed
(1993-2003); and the maturity era (since 2003).
With regard to the 'strategic decade', the Ambassador explained
that the understanding between President Heydar Aliyev and the
former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel was "a relationship
between equals." He also commented that: "Turkey has also been an
ardent supporter of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, defending
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution in accordance with these norms."
Ambassador Cevikoz concluded with a consideration of relations
since 2003, explaining that the 9/11 terrorist attacks have forced
the Caucasus off the news agenda, and hence the Nagorno-Karabakh
situation had been allowed to stagnate. However, Azerbaijan is now
viewed as playing an essential geopolitical role regarding the Afghan
struggle, with the US elevating it to a position on the world stage. He
also explained that Azerbaijani-Turkish trade volume, including the
operations of the BTC pipeline, had increased from $250m to $1bn
during 2001-09.
His Excellency stressed that the Turkish-Armenian protocols,
signed last year, had no lasting impact on the two Turkic nations'
relationship, commenting: "I will simply underline that, nothing
can negatively affect the Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood and
understanding." He went on to illustrate this fact by citing the
Agreement on Strategic Partnership and Mutual Assistance, signed
between President Aliyev and Turkish President Gul in August;
energy agreements ratified by the Turkish BOTAS and Azerbaijani SOCAR
companies; and the recent strategic agreement signed during the Summit
of Turkic-speaking Countries.
This thought-provoking presentation led to a lively question-and-answer
session, with questions being posed by Dennis Sammut, LINKS; Craig
Oliphant, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Harold Formstone, former
UK Ambassador to Azerbaijan; and Lord Kilclooney, amongst others.
From: A. Papazian