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ISTANBUL: Turkey's Role Important In Settlement Of Decades-Long Kara

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  • ISTANBUL: Turkey's Role Important In Settlement Of Decades-Long Kara

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    July 8 2012

    Turkey's Role Important In Settlement Of Decades-Long Karabakh Conflict

    Sunday, 08 July 2012 10:08 .
    LAMIYA ADILGIZI - Today's Zaman

    Turkey's role in the settlement of the decades-long Nagorno-Karabakh
    conflict between Turkey's closest ally, Azerbaijan, and its estranged
    neighbor Armenia is very important, an Azerbaijani official has said,
    pointing out that the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh should predate
    the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border.

    `Reconciliation and the opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia
    can be a subject of discussion only after the settlement of the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,' Orkhan Akbarov, the newly appointed chair
    of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh Coordination Council,
    said in an interview with Sunday's Zaman.

    Commenting on Turkey's firm stance in the process of settling the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Akbarov said that Turkey taking a stand in
    not opening the Turkish-Armenian border already proves Turkey's
    position and its support for brother country Azerbaijan.

    Turkey and Azerbaijan are considered `brotherly countries' due to
    their ethnic kinship, a fact that led Turkey to close its border with
    Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan after Armenian armed
    forces occupied territories of Azerbaijan one year earlier.

    `Turkey's continuing support for Azerbaijan and its consistent
    statements that it regards settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a
    precondition for the revival of diplomatic relations between Turkey
    and Armenia makes Turkey's position clear,' Akbarov said, expressing
    his belief that Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan on the
    Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

    Armenia, which started a war with Azerbaijan during the breakup of the
    Soviet Union and occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory,
    including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent provinces, argues that
    Turkey has no say in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as it is not one of
    the sides to the conflict. However, Turkey has always backed
    Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, declaring itself to be on
    Azerbaijan's side and standing by Azerbaijan in Azerbaijan's
    legitimate and constructive position in the settlement of the
    conflict.

    Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave located within Azerbaijan predominantly
    populated by ethnic Armenians, together with seven Azeri-populated
    adjacent territories, was occupied by Armenian forces under the
    command of current Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan in a bloody
    six-year war (1988-1994), leaving 30,000 dead and nearly a million
    displaced. Since then, negotiations to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
    conflict have been continuing under the Organization for Security and
    Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, established in 1992. The
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict however remains stalemated as there has been
    no progress in negotiations. The talks under the OSCE Minsk Group have
    yet to yield any results, as both Azerbaijan and Armenia insist on
    conditions that are not acceptable to the other. Armenia demands the
    independence of Nagorno-Karabakh and refuses to withdraw its troops
    from the occupied territories before ensuring the full sovereignty of
    the region. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan insists on the upholding of its
    territorial integrity, promising it will be open to discussion as well
    as determination of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh after the
    withdrawal the troops from its territories.

    Commenting on the stalemate, Akbarov accuses Russia and France of not
    being willing parties in settling the conflict. `As Russia does not
    approach the settlement process constructively and France maintains a
    pro-Armenian stance in the negotiations, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
    remains unsettled for the time being,' Akbarov said, adding that
    Turkey's inclusion as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group would be
    important. `To have a balance in the [OSCE Minsk] group is necessary
    and I think, if the member countries come together to cooperate with
    Turkey as co-chair of the group, it will help the Nagorno-Karabakh to
    find its best solution ever,' Akbarov said, underlining that Turkey's
    inclusion in the Minsk Group would lead to a peaceful solution to the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict being finally found.

    Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks have been conducted under the auspices of
    the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the US, France and Russia.

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