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BAKU: 'Erdogan's Presidency Not To Change Turkey's Policy In The Reg

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  • BAKU: 'Erdogan's Presidency Not To Change Turkey's Policy In The Reg

    'ERDOGAN'S PRESIDENCY NOT TO CHANGE TURKEY'S POLICY IN THE REGION'

    news.az
    May 12 2011
    Azerbaijan

    News.Az interviews Nizami Jafarov, chairman of the parliamentary
    committee for culture in Milli Majlis.

    Do you expect major changes in official Ankara's policy on the region,
    including on Azerbaijan in case Recep Tayyip Erdogan is elected the
    Turkish president during the next year elections?

    The Turkish authorities demonstrate some unity in approaches to a
    raft of issues, including regional ones regardless of who is in power
    in Turkey.

    Both Erdogan and any other person supported by Erdogan and the ruling
    party of Justice and Development may run for presidency in Turkey. In
    other words, in current political situation in Turkey, we can only
    speak about the election of a man that will be nominated by the ruling
    party. It means that Turkey's current policy will remain changeless
    after the presidential elections in this country. In other words,
    the policy applied by Erdogan, that is the policy of the party of
    Justice and Development, will see no changes toward Azerbaijan.

    And what changes may occur in Turkish-Armenian relations in case
    Erdogan is elected?

    Earlier we witnessed some progress in relations between Turkey and
    Armenia. So, practically, the ruling party of Justice and Development
    headed with Erdogan made some gestures to Armenia. But it seems that
    Turkey does not know Armenia well, which is why it faces the bitter
    results of its gestures. Turkey that expressed the intention to settle
    problems in the South Caucasus diplomatically had to face unforeseen
    problems. In other words, all these gestures proved ineffective making
    the ruling party revise their policy. Therefore, I expect Turkey
    not to repeat its gestures toward Armenia but to put some pressure
    on it. It is clear that the more gestures are shown to the aggressor
    and its backing forces, the worse. Probably, this formula has already
    influenced the opinion of the Party of Justice and Development.

    The infamous website Wikileaks has declassified new documents unveiling
    US Secretary Hillary Clinton's concerns about Turkey's consolidation
    and Ankara's plans to create nuclear weapon. What can be the impact
    of Turkey's plans on the region?

    Strengthening of any country may cause concerns throughout the world.

    But it does not mean that countries must not consolidate.

    As to concerns of superpowers about Turkey's consolidation, it all
    comes from opportunistic considerations. The world shows no fears
    over Turkey's strengthening, since Turkey is not a patriarchal country
    or ruled by a single person. It is a democratic country, integrating
    toward peace. But some countries in the West claim to use Turkey for
    their purposes. In this case I would not say that those countries
    are the powers that seek to create harmony in the world.

    And how can Turkey' consolidation influence Turkey's position in
    the region?

    Turkey is Azerbaijan's friend and strategic ally. Additionally,
    the relations between the Turkish and Azerbaijani peoples, described
    as relations between representatives of one nation, rely on strong
    grounds and ethnic unity. For this reason, Turkey's consolidation
    will always be in Azerbaijan's interests.

    How may the South Caucasus region benefit from improvement of
    Turkish-Russian relations that creates concerns in Armenia?

    Naturally that Turkey has its interests in Russia. A part of these
    interests is mostly linked to the fact that Russia accounts for large
    Turkic ethnicities. Furthermore, Turkey and Russia feel the need
    for development of bilateral ties with respect to mutual interest in
    those countries.

    In turn, Turkey is of interest to Russia as a country with developed
    business. Turkish businessmen started their businesses widely in
    Russia. All the same, Russia's attitude toward Turkey has never been
    unambiguous. Russia, as a big country, always laid the emphasis with
    relations with Turkey when it was necessary to secure its interests
    in the East.

    As for Armenia, it is a country that shows concerns on any issue.

    Armenia is a formation that seeks to use any tensions in international
    relations. Armenia's overall attitude to global problems is not
    standard or complying with norms of international law. For this very
    reason, Armenia has always showed concerns about any rapprochement
    between Russia and Turkey.

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