ARMENIAN MINISTRY: YEREVAN NOT HOLDING TALKS WITH ANKARA
Trend, Azerbaijan
Feb 25 2013
The Armenian Foreign Ministry denied any negotiations with Turkey,
Armenian Report said today.
"Armenia is not conducting negotiations with Turkey in any format,"
spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Tigran Balayan said.
He was commenting on the information in the Turkish Hurriyet Daily
News after the Armenian News correspondent's request.
According to the information, Ankara made an offer to Yerevan to
take part in a regional project in the case of progress in the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue, as well as voiced this proposal at the OSCE
Minsk Group.
While referring to diplomatic sources, the newspaper reported that
Ankara is trying to attract the OSCE Minsk Group.
"We presented a comprehensive project of establishing corridors
to the OSCE Minsk Group in November 2012," Hurriyet Daily News
reported earlier. "This project must be implemented in peacetime
and in particular, after Armenia makes a move to liberate the seven
occupied regions bordering with Nagorno-Karabakh. We then propose
to fully normalise relations between Turkey and Armenia and Armenia
and Azerbaijan."
According to the information the proposed project consisted of two
phases: the establishment of relations between Turkey, Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia by restoring unused railways and the building
of new ones.
'The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project must be completed by the end
of this year and the Turkey-Armenia railway can then be re-opened
after some restoration work', the information said.
The second phase of the project envisages the establishment of
relations between the regional countries with Europe and Asia, the
edition reported. A transportation line between London and Beijing
will soon be possible after Marmaray and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
railway projects are completed. However the normalisation of the
political situation in the region will allow Armenia to join this
growing strategic situation, sources close to the project said,
the edition reported.
According to the Turkish edition's sources, Turkey informed Baku
about the content of the proposed project. 'We made it clear that
the project can be implemented only after Armenia advances towards
a peace settlement', Azerbaijani sources said, the newspaper reported.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. -
are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Trend, Azerbaijan
Feb 25 2013
The Armenian Foreign Ministry denied any negotiations with Turkey,
Armenian Report said today.
"Armenia is not conducting negotiations with Turkey in any format,"
spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Tigran Balayan said.
He was commenting on the information in the Turkish Hurriyet Daily
News after the Armenian News correspondent's request.
According to the information, Ankara made an offer to Yerevan to
take part in a regional project in the case of progress in the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue, as well as voiced this proposal at the OSCE
Minsk Group.
While referring to diplomatic sources, the newspaper reported that
Ankara is trying to attract the OSCE Minsk Group.
"We presented a comprehensive project of establishing corridors
to the OSCE Minsk Group in November 2012," Hurriyet Daily News
reported earlier. "This project must be implemented in peacetime
and in particular, after Armenia makes a move to liberate the seven
occupied regions bordering with Nagorno-Karabakh. We then propose
to fully normalise relations between Turkey and Armenia and Armenia
and Azerbaijan."
According to the information the proposed project consisted of two
phases: the establishment of relations between Turkey, Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia by restoring unused railways and the building
of new ones.
'The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project must be completed by the end
of this year and the Turkey-Armenia railway can then be re-opened
after some restoration work', the information said.
The second phase of the project envisages the establishment of
relations between the regional countries with Europe and Asia, the
edition reported. A transportation line between London and Beijing
will soon be possible after Marmaray and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
railway projects are completed. However the normalisation of the
political situation in the region will allow Armenia to join this
growing strategic situation, sources close to the project said,
the edition reported.
According to the Turkish edition's sources, Turkey informed Baku
about the content of the proposed project. 'We made it clear that
the project can be implemented only after Armenia advances towards
a peace settlement', Azerbaijani sources said, the newspaper reported.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. -
are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions
on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.