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WOULD ARMENIA DARE TO PROVOKE NEW WAR IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH?
Today
http://www.today.az/news/politics/73138.html
Sept 7 2010
Azerbaijan
Interview with member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
(Parliament) from the ruling Justice and Development Party, deputy
chair of the Committee on Political Affairs and Security of the OSCE
PA Canan Kalsin.
Armenian side has stepped up provocation on the contact line of
Armenian and Azerbaijani troops lately. What are the chances of a
war and what steps will Turkey take in this case?
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's moving to the phase of full-scale armed
conflict threatens to destabilize situation not only in the South
Caucasus, but also neighboring regions up until the Balkans. Turkey
seeks to resolve the conflict, while it, so to speak, is "frozen".
Provocations by Armenians along the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact
line aim to increase tension in the region. There are forces in
Armenia who do not want peace. In addition, majority of Armenia's 3
million citizens are outside the country. Armenian economy is entirely
dependent on the assistance of compatriots abroad, many of whom are
very nationalistic. But I am confident that Armenia would not dare
to provoke a war.
Armenian diaspora intends to raise wave of lawsuits in the European
courts against Turkey on the so-called "Armenian genocide". In your
opinion, does this move aim to force Ankara to make concessions
under pressure?
Turkey has long opened all the historical archives. But as you know,
the Armenian side refuses to open its archives. Turkey's position is
that the issue of "genocide" should be dealt with by international
organizations and historians. Turkey believes that no genocide took
place and offers historians to conduct a research into this issue. Why
is this study has not yet been carried out is a question to be answered
by the Armenian side.
Can the Turkish-Russian rapprochement give a positive impetus to the
settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict?
You've got to remember that at the dawn of the Karabakh conflict,
Russia strongly armed, trained Armenia and thus predetermined the
further course of events in this confrontation. However, I think that
the rapprochement between Turkey and Russia will create a favorable
atmosphere in the settlement of frozen conflicts. The fact is that the
tension in a particular region causes a reaction in other regions and
countries under the principle of contagion. For example, the results of
the war in Iraq still have a negative impact on neighboring countries.
Does Turkey face pressure to open Turkish-Armenian border? Is this
problem related with the settlement of Karabakh conflict?
Turkey pursues an independent foreign policy, and do not think that
it will open its border with Armenia under pressure. When Armenia
declared its independence in the early 1990s, Turkey was the first
country to open borders and air space with the country. But after the
Armenian authorities begun to pursue radical nationalist policies,
we were forced to close the border. A lot of Armenian citizens are
illegally working in Turkey. The economy of this country to some
extent is dependent on Turkey.
The border between Turkey and Armenia can be opened on mutually
acceptable terms and it will have a very positive impact on the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict. At the same time, opening the
border creates opportunities for restoration of the Armenian-Turkish
rail link, which connects the South Caucasus region with Central Asia.
This railway is of particular importance in terms of integration
of Turkic states. Opening of Armenian-Turkish border will step up
Ankara's role in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. However,
the only condition for this is progress is the liberation of occupied
Azerbaijani territories.
From: A. Papazian
Today
http://www.today.az/news/politics/73138.html
Sept 7 2010
Azerbaijan
Interview with member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
(Parliament) from the ruling Justice and Development Party, deputy
chair of the Committee on Political Affairs and Security of the OSCE
PA Canan Kalsin.
Armenian side has stepped up provocation on the contact line of
Armenian and Azerbaijani troops lately. What are the chances of a
war and what steps will Turkey take in this case?
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's moving to the phase of full-scale armed
conflict threatens to destabilize situation not only in the South
Caucasus, but also neighboring regions up until the Balkans. Turkey
seeks to resolve the conflict, while it, so to speak, is "frozen".
Provocations by Armenians along the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact
line aim to increase tension in the region. There are forces in
Armenia who do not want peace. In addition, majority of Armenia's 3
million citizens are outside the country. Armenian economy is entirely
dependent on the assistance of compatriots abroad, many of whom are
very nationalistic. But I am confident that Armenia would not dare
to provoke a war.
Armenian diaspora intends to raise wave of lawsuits in the European
courts against Turkey on the so-called "Armenian genocide". In your
opinion, does this move aim to force Ankara to make concessions
under pressure?
Turkey has long opened all the historical archives. But as you know,
the Armenian side refuses to open its archives. Turkey's position is
that the issue of "genocide" should be dealt with by international
organizations and historians. Turkey believes that no genocide took
place and offers historians to conduct a research into this issue. Why
is this study has not yet been carried out is a question to be answered
by the Armenian side.
Can the Turkish-Russian rapprochement give a positive impetus to the
settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict?
You've got to remember that at the dawn of the Karabakh conflict,
Russia strongly armed, trained Armenia and thus predetermined the
further course of events in this confrontation. However, I think that
the rapprochement between Turkey and Russia will create a favorable
atmosphere in the settlement of frozen conflicts. The fact is that the
tension in a particular region causes a reaction in other regions and
countries under the principle of contagion. For example, the results of
the war in Iraq still have a negative impact on neighboring countries.
Does Turkey face pressure to open Turkish-Armenian border? Is this
problem related with the settlement of Karabakh conflict?
Turkey pursues an independent foreign policy, and do not think that
it will open its border with Armenia under pressure. When Armenia
declared its independence in the early 1990s, Turkey was the first
country to open borders and air space with the country. But after the
Armenian authorities begun to pursue radical nationalist policies,
we were forced to close the border. A lot of Armenian citizens are
illegally working in Turkey. The economy of this country to some
extent is dependent on Turkey.
The border between Turkey and Armenia can be opened on mutually
acceptable terms and it will have a very positive impact on the
settlement of the Karabakh conflict. At the same time, opening the
border creates opportunities for restoration of the Armenian-Turkish
rail link, which connects the South Caucasus region with Central Asia.
This railway is of particular importance in terms of integration
of Turkic states. Opening of Armenian-Turkish border will step up
Ankara's role in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. However,
the only condition for this is progress is the liberation of occupied
Azerbaijani territories.
From: A. Papazian