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Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 8 2011
Azerbaijan appreciates Turkey's stand on Nagorno-Karabakh
08 May 2011, Sunday / LAMIYA ADILGIZI, BAKU
The Turkish prime minister's recent speech in IÄ?dır that stressed
Azerbaijan's importance for Turkey was warmly welcomed in Azerbaijan,
reinforcing the trust and understanding between the two brotherly
nations, Azerbaijani experts say.
`Such statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an
explicitly show Turkey's position towards Azerbaijan so that
Azerbaijan knows it is much more important to Turkey than Armenia,'
Cavid Veliev, a regional expert at the Strategic Research Center based
in Baku, said in an interview with Sunday's Zaman. Giving the speech
during a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) election rally at
the city of IÄ?dır's Belediye Square on April 30 as a part of his
election campaign, ErdoÄ?an referred to Turkey's relations with Armenia
and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in front of a throng of local
residents. He said straightening out Turkish-Armenian relations is not
as important as settling the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute; without the
settlement of this conflict, the normalization process between Armenia
and Turkey is impossible.
`I am putting this issue plainly once more here in IÄ?dır: without any
breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh stalemate, our relations with
Armenia cannot get back on track,' ErdoÄ?an said. Talking to Sunday's
Zaman, Elkhan Å?ahinoÄ?lu, the head of Baku-based Atlas Research Center,
said ErdoÄ?an's saying that the security of Nakhichevan and
Nagorno-Karabakh is as important as the security of Turkey and that
Turkey backs Azerbaijan are very important messages for the
international community, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Remarking on the
completion of the highway in Nakhichevan, ErdoÄ?an stated, `The
Karabakh and Nakhichevan issues are of concern for Turkey.'
ErdoÄ?an once more mentioned Turkey's steadfast stand -- that without
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, Turkey will neither
open the borders nor establish diplomatic relations with Armenia. In
addition, ErdoÄ?an also said Armenia should understand that if
Azerbaijan is threatened, Yerevan will find Turkey standing alongside
Azerbaijan. Saying Turkey sent a gentle message to Azerbaijan,
Å?ahinoÄ?lu added, `Ankara is loyal to the alliance with its brother
state.'
Normalization efforts between Ankara and Yerevan had shaken
Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship for a short period after Turkey signed
the Zurich protocols with Armenia in October 2009, an agreement to
establish diplomatic relations between the countries. In 1993, after
the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan
-- post-Soviet countries in the South Caucasus -- diplomatic ties
between Armenia and Turkey became strained. Supporting its strategic
ally Azerbaijan, Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in an effort
to make Armenia, which also says in has territorial claims over parts
of Turkey, respect the borders of its neighbors.
Azerbaijan opposed the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, saying
Turkey's normalization efforts put Azerbaijan's attempts to isolate
Armenia economically within the region in jeopardy, causing Azerbaijan
to lose a bargaining chip in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. ErdoÄ?an
said in his speech in IÄ?dır that Azerbaijan's pain is Turkey's too.
`Turkey has always stood next to Azerbaijan, backed it on
Nagorno-Karabakh and will always continue to support it,' ErdoÄ?an
stated.
In an interview with Sunday's Zaman, Elnur Soltanov, an expert at the
Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, said that the IÄ?dır speech by the
Turkish prime minister was not just calculated to gain votes, but an
indication of the Turkey's official policy. Despite most of the
population of IÄ?dır having Azerbaijani origins, experts think the
prime minister's speech does not stem from electoral concerns alone,
with Soltanov saying, `ErdoÄ?an is a popular and respected prime
minister of Turkey, and he has been noticeably consistent regarding
the triangle of Turkey-Azerbaijan-Armenia relations since 2010.'
Calling the message `clear, consistent, legitimate, legally powerful
and peaceful,' Soltanov noted the similarity between ErdoÄ?an's IÄ?dır
and Geneva speeches; however, considering that normalization between
Turkey and Armenia will not bring comprehensive peace to the region,
one cannot speak of any `normalization.'
While responding to questions from Armenian deputies during the
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's (PACE) latest session, held
in mid-April, ErdoÄ?an stated that Turkey will always protect
Azerbaijan's rights, while attempting to normalize its ties with
Armenia. Meanwhile, ErdoÄ?an urged Armenia not to give in to pressure
from the powerful Armenian diaspora. Revisiting the questions by
Armenian deputies addressed to ErdoÄ?an during that PACE session,
ErdoÄ?an restated his response to them in his speech in IÄ?dır, saying
no one can expect anything from Turkey in regard to the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
The Turkish-Armenian rapprochement resulted in a souring of
Azerbaijani-Turkish relations. Although the Azerbaijani administration
preferred to keep silent, saying this is an issue that concerns Turkey
and Armenia only, there was growing concern among the Azerbaijani
public that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would not be peacefully
resolved and instead Armenia would benefit from the border opening.
From: A. Papazian
May 8 2011
Azerbaijan appreciates Turkey's stand on Nagorno-Karabakh
08 May 2011, Sunday / LAMIYA ADILGIZI, BAKU
The Turkish prime minister's recent speech in IÄ?dır that stressed
Azerbaijan's importance for Turkey was warmly welcomed in Azerbaijan,
reinforcing the trust and understanding between the two brotherly
nations, Azerbaijani experts say.
`Such statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an
explicitly show Turkey's position towards Azerbaijan so that
Azerbaijan knows it is much more important to Turkey than Armenia,'
Cavid Veliev, a regional expert at the Strategic Research Center based
in Baku, said in an interview with Sunday's Zaman. Giving the speech
during a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) election rally at
the city of IÄ?dır's Belediye Square on April 30 as a part of his
election campaign, ErdoÄ?an referred to Turkey's relations with Armenia
and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in front of a throng of local
residents. He said straightening out Turkish-Armenian relations is not
as important as settling the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute; without the
settlement of this conflict, the normalization process between Armenia
and Turkey is impossible.
`I am putting this issue plainly once more here in IÄ?dır: without any
breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh stalemate, our relations with
Armenia cannot get back on track,' ErdoÄ?an said. Talking to Sunday's
Zaman, Elkhan Å?ahinoÄ?lu, the head of Baku-based Atlas Research Center,
said ErdoÄ?an's saying that the security of Nakhichevan and
Nagorno-Karabakh is as important as the security of Turkey and that
Turkey backs Azerbaijan are very important messages for the
international community, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Remarking on the
completion of the highway in Nakhichevan, ErdoÄ?an stated, `The
Karabakh and Nakhichevan issues are of concern for Turkey.'
ErdoÄ?an once more mentioned Turkey's steadfast stand -- that without
the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, Turkey will neither
open the borders nor establish diplomatic relations with Armenia. In
addition, ErdoÄ?an also said Armenia should understand that if
Azerbaijan is threatened, Yerevan will find Turkey standing alongside
Azerbaijan. Saying Turkey sent a gentle message to Azerbaijan,
Å?ahinoÄ?lu added, `Ankara is loyal to the alliance with its brother
state.'
Normalization efforts between Ankara and Yerevan had shaken
Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship for a short period after Turkey signed
the Zurich protocols with Armenia in October 2009, an agreement to
establish diplomatic relations between the countries. In 1993, after
the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan
-- post-Soviet countries in the South Caucasus -- diplomatic ties
between Armenia and Turkey became strained. Supporting its strategic
ally Azerbaijan, Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in an effort
to make Armenia, which also says in has territorial claims over parts
of Turkey, respect the borders of its neighbors.
Azerbaijan opposed the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, saying
Turkey's normalization efforts put Azerbaijan's attempts to isolate
Armenia economically within the region in jeopardy, causing Azerbaijan
to lose a bargaining chip in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. ErdoÄ?an
said in his speech in IÄ?dır that Azerbaijan's pain is Turkey's too.
`Turkey has always stood next to Azerbaijan, backed it on
Nagorno-Karabakh and will always continue to support it,' ErdoÄ?an
stated.
In an interview with Sunday's Zaman, Elnur Soltanov, an expert at the
Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy, said that the IÄ?dır speech by the
Turkish prime minister was not just calculated to gain votes, but an
indication of the Turkey's official policy. Despite most of the
population of IÄ?dır having Azerbaijani origins, experts think the
prime minister's speech does not stem from electoral concerns alone,
with Soltanov saying, `ErdoÄ?an is a popular and respected prime
minister of Turkey, and he has been noticeably consistent regarding
the triangle of Turkey-Azerbaijan-Armenia relations since 2010.'
Calling the message `clear, consistent, legitimate, legally powerful
and peaceful,' Soltanov noted the similarity between ErdoÄ?an's IÄ?dır
and Geneva speeches; however, considering that normalization between
Turkey and Armenia will not bring comprehensive peace to the region,
one cannot speak of any `normalization.'
While responding to questions from Armenian deputies during the
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's (PACE) latest session, held
in mid-April, ErdoÄ?an stated that Turkey will always protect
Azerbaijan's rights, while attempting to normalize its ties with
Armenia. Meanwhile, ErdoÄ?an urged Armenia not to give in to pressure
from the powerful Armenian diaspora. Revisiting the questions by
Armenian deputies addressed to ErdoÄ?an during that PACE session,
ErdoÄ?an restated his response to them in his speech in IÄ?dır, saying
no one can expect anything from Turkey in regard to the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
The Turkish-Armenian rapprochement resulted in a souring of
Azerbaijani-Turkish relations. Although the Azerbaijani administration
preferred to keep silent, saying this is an issue that concerns Turkey
and Armenia only, there was growing concern among the Azerbaijani
public that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would not be peacefully
resolved and instead Armenia would benefit from the border opening.
From: A. Papazian