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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Sept 27 2012
No concessions on Armenia-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, says Aras
27 September 2012 / LAMIYA ADILGIZI, BAKU
A Turkish senior official has once more reiterated that Turkey will
make no concessions when it comes to the Nagorno-Karabakh region of
Azerbaijan, which was occupied by the Armenian Armed Forces in the
early 1990s, and will do its utmost for the liberation of Azerbaijani
territories.
`Occupied Azerbaijani territories [Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
territories] are being accepted as Turkic land and we want to assure
our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters that we will make no concessions
on Nagorno-Karabakh no matter how many years pass, be it 15 or 150, "
said Bülent Aras, chairman of the Turkish Foreign Ministry's Center
for Strategic Research (SAM), speaking at a press conference held in
Baku on Wednesday at the conclusion of one half of `Turkey Week,'
which started in Azerbaijan on Monday.
It is already more that two decades that Nagorno-Karabakh has been
controlled by Armenian troops and local ethnic Armenian forces since a
1994 cease-fire ended a six-year war that killed an estimated 30,000
people and left about 1 million Azerbaijanis internally displaced. The
negotiations led under the auspices of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 1992 to settle the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh have not produced
any positive results towards the resolution of the conflict, although
it is committed to encouraging a peaceful and negotiated resolution of
the conflict.
Aras said the importance of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as
soon as possible is well and clearly understood only after one has
visited the territories close to the occupied lands of Azerbaijan and
talked to the refugees who have suffered from the war and who still
bear its physical and mental scars.
Visiting Azerbaijan's province of AÄ?dam, half of which was occupied
during the Nagorno-Karabakh war of 1988-1994, as a part of Turkey Week
activities on Tuesday, Turkish and Azerbaijani academics got to know
the problems and difficulties the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is
imposing on local ethnic Azerbaijanis every day.
Turkey Week was organized by Turkey's SAM in cooperation with the
Azerbaijan Presidential Office's SAM, and ran from Sept. 23-27. As
part of Turkey Week's activities, a group of Turkish academics along
with their Azerbaijani colleagues paid a visit to Baku, the capital of
Azerbaijan, and then moved on to three other cities, Ganja, Lenkeran
and AÄ?dam. Another group of academics visited Nakhchivan on Thursday.
Participating in panel discussions titled `Turkey-Azerbaijan
Relations,' `Turkey's Caucasus Politics in General' and `Turkey's
Foreign Policy in General,' the academics debated issues that are of
importance in boosting bilateral relations.
Talking to the people who were participants of the Nagorno-Karabakh
war and are victims of the bloody warfare between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, Turkish academics were mainly impressed with the patriotic
feelings of these people, pointing out that `everyone loves their
land, but the atmosphere there [the Azerbaijani territories on the
borderline] is totally different.'
`We knew about what love for Azerbaijan and being an Azerbaijani means
there [the occupied Azerbaijani territories],' Aras said, adding:
`Moreover, we have witnessed a patriotic love for Turkey in those
lands, too, which has made a strong impression on us. A 70-year-old
man who was forced to leave his home in Nagorno-Karabakh and has set
his mind only on going back to his lands prays `God bless Turkey.' We
have learned that Nagorno-Karabakh refugees living in difficult
conditions collected money among themselves to help the victims of the
earthquake that happened in Van last year. This is a symbol of the
extent of the ethnic kinship between the two nations.'
On their return, the Turkish team is expected to introduce their
recommendations to Turkish policymakers as well as brief the Turkish
public about Azerbaijan and its realities.
Noting the importance of strengthening relations between Azerbaijan
and Turkey, Aras also noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey are evolving
towards two countries that are uniting their foreign policies and
external affairs, which he thinks has made bilateral relations between
the two countries accelerate since 2010.
`Political and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are
developing on strong and healthy grounds. Political relations are
guaranteed by economic relations. To make these relations healthier
and more long-lasting, communication between the two nations is
important,' said Aras, adding that there is no doubt that Azerbaijan
and Turkey are friendly and brotherly countries, calling on both
nations to keep these ties secure and robust.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-293602--no-concessions-on-armenia-occupied-nagorno-karabakh-says-aras.html
Sept 27 2012
No concessions on Armenia-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, says Aras
27 September 2012 / LAMIYA ADILGIZI, BAKU
A Turkish senior official has once more reiterated that Turkey will
make no concessions when it comes to the Nagorno-Karabakh region of
Azerbaijan, which was occupied by the Armenian Armed Forces in the
early 1990s, and will do its utmost for the liberation of Azerbaijani
territories.
`Occupied Azerbaijani territories [Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
territories] are being accepted as Turkic land and we want to assure
our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters that we will make no concessions
on Nagorno-Karabakh no matter how many years pass, be it 15 or 150, "
said Bülent Aras, chairman of the Turkish Foreign Ministry's Center
for Strategic Research (SAM), speaking at a press conference held in
Baku on Wednesday at the conclusion of one half of `Turkey Week,'
which started in Azerbaijan on Monday.
It is already more that two decades that Nagorno-Karabakh has been
controlled by Armenian troops and local ethnic Armenian forces since a
1994 cease-fire ended a six-year war that killed an estimated 30,000
people and left about 1 million Azerbaijanis internally displaced. The
negotiations led under the auspices of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) since 1992 to settle the conflict
between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh have not produced
any positive results towards the resolution of the conflict, although
it is committed to encouraging a peaceful and negotiated resolution of
the conflict.
Aras said the importance of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as
soon as possible is well and clearly understood only after one has
visited the territories close to the occupied lands of Azerbaijan and
talked to the refugees who have suffered from the war and who still
bear its physical and mental scars.
Visiting Azerbaijan's province of AÄ?dam, half of which was occupied
during the Nagorno-Karabakh war of 1988-1994, as a part of Turkey Week
activities on Tuesday, Turkish and Azerbaijani academics got to know
the problems and difficulties the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is
imposing on local ethnic Azerbaijanis every day.
Turkey Week was organized by Turkey's SAM in cooperation with the
Azerbaijan Presidential Office's SAM, and ran from Sept. 23-27. As
part of Turkey Week's activities, a group of Turkish academics along
with their Azerbaijani colleagues paid a visit to Baku, the capital of
Azerbaijan, and then moved on to three other cities, Ganja, Lenkeran
and AÄ?dam. Another group of academics visited Nakhchivan on Thursday.
Participating in panel discussions titled `Turkey-Azerbaijan
Relations,' `Turkey's Caucasus Politics in General' and `Turkey's
Foreign Policy in General,' the academics debated issues that are of
importance in boosting bilateral relations.
Talking to the people who were participants of the Nagorno-Karabakh
war and are victims of the bloody warfare between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, Turkish academics were mainly impressed with the patriotic
feelings of these people, pointing out that `everyone loves their
land, but the atmosphere there [the Azerbaijani territories on the
borderline] is totally different.'
`We knew about what love for Azerbaijan and being an Azerbaijani means
there [the occupied Azerbaijani territories],' Aras said, adding:
`Moreover, we have witnessed a patriotic love for Turkey in those
lands, too, which has made a strong impression on us. A 70-year-old
man who was forced to leave his home in Nagorno-Karabakh and has set
his mind only on going back to his lands prays `God bless Turkey.' We
have learned that Nagorno-Karabakh refugees living in difficult
conditions collected money among themselves to help the victims of the
earthquake that happened in Van last year. This is a symbol of the
extent of the ethnic kinship between the two nations.'
On their return, the Turkish team is expected to introduce their
recommendations to Turkish policymakers as well as brief the Turkish
public about Azerbaijan and its realities.
Noting the importance of strengthening relations between Azerbaijan
and Turkey, Aras also noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey are evolving
towards two countries that are uniting their foreign policies and
external affairs, which he thinks has made bilateral relations between
the two countries accelerate since 2010.
`Political and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are
developing on strong and healthy grounds. Political relations are
guaranteed by economic relations. To make these relations healthier
and more long-lasting, communication between the two nations is
important,' said Aras, adding that there is no doubt that Azerbaijan
and Turkey are friendly and brotherly countries, calling on both
nations to keep these ties secure and robust.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-293602--no-concessions-on-armenia-occupied-nagorno-karabakh-says-aras.html