Tweet
REALITY OF DAVUTOGLU'S NAGORNO-KARABAKH POLICY BECOMES CONTROVERSIAL
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-291000-reality-of-davutoglus-nagorno-karabakh-policy-becomes-controversial.html
Aug 31 2012
Turkey
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, answering questions on NTV last
week, said Azerbaijan and Armenia should come together in İstanbul
to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as Ankara believes the
role played by Turkey in the South Caucasus makes it a vital actor
in the region.
"We would like to see talks on Syria in Turkey. We also want
negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be held in İstanbul,"
Davutoglu reportedly said.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave located within Azerbaijan and
predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians, together with seven
Azeri-populated adjacent territories, was occupied by Armenian
forces in a bloody six-year war (1988-1994), leaving 30,000 dead and
nearly 1 million displaced. Since then, negotiations to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have been ongoing under the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group. The
conflict, however, is at a stalemate, as there has been no progress
in negotiations.
While the Syrian crisis, which escalated from being a 17-month-long
anti-regime protest to a bloody civil war in the region, became a
real headache for Turkey's national security, Davutoglu's call for
the conflicting sides to come together received a mixed response
from political analysts. The foreign minister was considered not to
be frank or committed for raising the Nagorno-Karabakh issue while
the Syrian disaster is boiling in Turkey's backyard.
"With the Syrian crisis and all the chaos that is presently going on
in the region ... it seems a bit strange that Davutoglu would suddenly
decide to raise the Karabakh issue," said Amanda Paul in her recent
column in Today's Zaman, calling the foreign minister's suggestion
"unrealistic."
However, Guner Ozkan, an expert on the Caucasus at the Ankara-based
International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), said the issue
of Nagorno-Karabakh has always been a priority on the Turkish foreign
policy agenda.
"A peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is directly
related to and of prime importance for the economic growth and common
security and foreign policy in the regions of the South Caucasus and
Central Asia," Ozkan said.
The foreign minister's statement came on Aug. 25 directly after
Davutoglu strongly condemned Armenia's position in the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue in Bishkek while making his speech at the meeting of the Council
of Foreign Ministers within the Summit of the Cooperation Council of
Turkic Speaking States (CCTS) in the Kyrgyz capital on Aug. 23.
In a speech to Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbayev, Azerbaijani
Deputy Foreign Minister Halef Halefov and Kazakh Foreign Minister
Yerzhan Kazykhanov, who were the main participants in the meeting,
Davutoglu said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia is an obstacle standing in the way of stability in the South
Caucasus and Central Asia.
"Nagorno-Karabakh is the main obstacle to achieving peace and stability
in the South Caucasus. The liberation of Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh
and seven adjacent territories remains the main direction of our
foreign policy as we work in this direction, and Turkey fully supports
Azerbaijan on this issue," Davutoglu said, emphasizing Turkey's
concern about any failed solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Reiterating Turkey's role as peace broker in attempts to end regional
conflicts, Efgan Niftiyev, a political analyst at the İstanbul-based
Caspian Strategic Institute, expressed his belief in Davutoglu's
sincerity and willingness, pointing out, however, that Turkey has
limited options at hand given the nature of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.
"Turkey may definitely make a positive contribution to the resolution
of the conflict. ... Conflicting parties could sit behind the
negotiation table in İstanbul; however, it does not seem like it
will happen anytime soon," Niftiyev told Today's Zaman.
Also holding few expectations for any progress, Richard Giragosian,
director of the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center (RSC), however,
links any possible breakthrough on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to
the revival of Armenian-Turkish normalization and urges Turkey to
make the first move and to return to negotiations.
"Only a diplomatic breakthrough between Armenia and Turkey offers
the positive trend in the region, and it still holds promise for a
reconfiguration of the geopolitical landscape of the South Caucasus,"
Giragosian said, adding that there is a greater degree of political
will to return to diplomatic negotiations, bolstered by Turkey's bid
to become more of a regional player.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their mutual border
has been closed since 1993. Turkey closed the border in protest of
the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. An initiative in 2009 to
normalize bilateral relations failed after Turkey said normalization
depends on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Today's Zaman
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-291000-reality-of-davutoglus-nagorno-karabakh-policy-becomes-controversial.html
Aug 31 2012
Turkey
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, answering questions on NTV last
week, said Azerbaijan and Armenia should come together in İstanbul
to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as Ankara believes the
role played by Turkey in the South Caucasus makes it a vital actor
in the region.
"We would like to see talks on Syria in Turkey. We also want
negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be held in İstanbul,"
Davutoglu reportedly said.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave located within Azerbaijan and
predominantly populated by ethnic Armenians, together with seven
Azeri-populated adjacent territories, was occupied by Armenian
forces in a bloody six-year war (1988-1994), leaving 30,000 dead and
nearly 1 million displaced. Since then, negotiations to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have been ongoing under the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group. The
conflict, however, is at a stalemate, as there has been no progress
in negotiations.
While the Syrian crisis, which escalated from being a 17-month-long
anti-regime protest to a bloody civil war in the region, became a
real headache for Turkey's national security, Davutoglu's call for
the conflicting sides to come together received a mixed response
from political analysts. The foreign minister was considered not to
be frank or committed for raising the Nagorno-Karabakh issue while
the Syrian disaster is boiling in Turkey's backyard.
"With the Syrian crisis and all the chaos that is presently going on
in the region ... it seems a bit strange that Davutoglu would suddenly
decide to raise the Karabakh issue," said Amanda Paul in her recent
column in Today's Zaman, calling the foreign minister's suggestion
"unrealistic."
However, Guner Ozkan, an expert on the Caucasus at the Ankara-based
International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), said the issue
of Nagorno-Karabakh has always been a priority on the Turkish foreign
policy agenda.
"A peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is directly
related to and of prime importance for the economic growth and common
security and foreign policy in the regions of the South Caucasus and
Central Asia," Ozkan said.
The foreign minister's statement came on Aug. 25 directly after
Davutoglu strongly condemned Armenia's position in the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue in Bishkek while making his speech at the meeting of the Council
of Foreign Ministers within the Summit of the Cooperation Council of
Turkic Speaking States (CCTS) in the Kyrgyz capital on Aug. 23.
In a speech to Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ruslan Kazakbayev, Azerbaijani
Deputy Foreign Minister Halef Halefov and Kazakh Foreign Minister
Yerzhan Kazykhanov, who were the main participants in the meeting,
Davutoglu said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia is an obstacle standing in the way of stability in the South
Caucasus and Central Asia.
"Nagorno-Karabakh is the main obstacle to achieving peace and stability
in the South Caucasus. The liberation of Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh
and seven adjacent territories remains the main direction of our
foreign policy as we work in this direction, and Turkey fully supports
Azerbaijan on this issue," Davutoglu said, emphasizing Turkey's
concern about any failed solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Reiterating Turkey's role as peace broker in attempts to end regional
conflicts, Efgan Niftiyev, a political analyst at the İstanbul-based
Caspian Strategic Institute, expressed his belief in Davutoglu's
sincerity and willingness, pointing out, however, that Turkey has
limited options at hand given the nature of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.
"Turkey may definitely make a positive contribution to the resolution
of the conflict. ... Conflicting parties could sit behind the
negotiation table in İstanbul; however, it does not seem like it
will happen anytime soon," Niftiyev told Today's Zaman.
Also holding few expectations for any progress, Richard Giragosian,
director of the Yerevan-based Regional Studies Center (RSC), however,
links any possible breakthrough on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to
the revival of Armenian-Turkish normalization and urges Turkey to
make the first move and to return to negotiations.
"Only a diplomatic breakthrough between Armenia and Turkey offers
the positive trend in the region, and it still holds promise for a
reconfiguration of the geopolitical landscape of the South Caucasus,"
Giragosian said, adding that there is a greater degree of political
will to return to diplomatic negotiations, bolstered by Turkey's bid
to become more of a regional player.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their mutual border
has been closed since 1993. Turkey closed the border in protest of
the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. An initiative in 2009 to
normalize bilateral relations failed after Turkey said normalization
depends on a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.