Tweet
TURKEY COULD REOPEN RAILWAY IN PARALLEL WITH KARABAKH PROGRESS
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Nov 8 2013
ANKARA - Hurriyet Daily News
by Sevil ErkuÅ~_
Turkey could amenable to reopening the long-closed railway link
between Kars and Armenia if Yerevan and Baku make progress in solving
the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, Turkish diplomats have said.
Azerbaijani President Ä°lham Aliyev will visit Turkey on Nov. 12,
during which "creative ideas" to create peace and stability in the
region will be high on the agenda, according to diplomatic sources.
One of those "creative ideas" is to reopen the Turkey-Armenia
railway, contingent upon parallel progress in solving the dispute over
Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been occupied by Armenia for two decades,
diplomatic sources told the Hurriyet Daily News yesterday.
The Kars-Gyumri section of the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway line has
not been operational since 1993, when Turkey closed the border with
Armenia amid its war with Azerbaijan for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The idea of reopening the railway came as a question to Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at a closed-door Parliament briefing on Nov.
6. The minister said opening the border with Armenia and reopening the
railway could be brought to the agenda under the framework of a peace
plan that includes the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The minister earlier said Turkey was looking for "creative ideas"
to develop relations with Armenia, adding that Ankara was intent on
normalizing ties. "Now we are looking to develop it and advance with
creative ideas and new ways of thinking. We will increase our works
in the coming period. When relations between Turkey and Armenia are
normalized, most of the issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia will also
be within the framework of a solution," Davutoglu said last month at
a press conference in Switzerland, which had hosted a signing ceremony
in 2009 for a protocol between Turkey and Armenia to normalize ties.
Turkey would consider all steps taken in parallel to other steps in
the region in a positive way, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Levent
Gumrukcu said at a press briefing yesterday. In this regard, Turkey
is in cooperation and in coordination with Azerbaijan, he added.
Turkey introduced the Integrated Transportation Corridors Project
to the Minsk Group in November 2012, to be implemented in peace time
and particularly after Armenia moves to end its occupation of seven
regions bordering Nagorno-Karabakh.
The first part of a plan to renew transport linkages among regional
countries will focus on linking Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia
by fixing unused railways and building new ones.
Transportation from Turkey to Armenia would be supported by railway
and a new highway in order to increase trade and human traffic between
the two countries.
November/08/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-could-reopen-railway-in-parallel-with-karabakh-progress-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57565
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Nov 8 2013
ANKARA - Hurriyet Daily News
by Sevil ErkuÅ~_
Turkey could amenable to reopening the long-closed railway link
between Kars and Armenia if Yerevan and Baku make progress in solving
the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, Turkish diplomats have said.
Azerbaijani President Ä°lham Aliyev will visit Turkey on Nov. 12,
during which "creative ideas" to create peace and stability in the
region will be high on the agenda, according to diplomatic sources.
One of those "creative ideas" is to reopen the Turkey-Armenia
railway, contingent upon parallel progress in solving the dispute over
Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been occupied by Armenia for two decades,
diplomatic sources told the Hurriyet Daily News yesterday.
The Kars-Gyumri section of the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway line has
not been operational since 1993, when Turkey closed the border with
Armenia amid its war with Azerbaijan for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The idea of reopening the railway came as a question to Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at a closed-door Parliament briefing on Nov.
6. The minister said opening the border with Armenia and reopening the
railway could be brought to the agenda under the framework of a peace
plan that includes the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The minister earlier said Turkey was looking for "creative ideas"
to develop relations with Armenia, adding that Ankara was intent on
normalizing ties. "Now we are looking to develop it and advance with
creative ideas and new ways of thinking. We will increase our works
in the coming period. When relations between Turkey and Armenia are
normalized, most of the issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia will also
be within the framework of a solution," Davutoglu said last month at
a press conference in Switzerland, which had hosted a signing ceremony
in 2009 for a protocol between Turkey and Armenia to normalize ties.
Turkey would consider all steps taken in parallel to other steps in
the region in a positive way, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Levent
Gumrukcu said at a press briefing yesterday. In this regard, Turkey
is in cooperation and in coordination with Azerbaijan, he added.
Turkey introduced the Integrated Transportation Corridors Project
to the Minsk Group in November 2012, to be implemented in peace time
and particularly after Armenia moves to end its occupation of seven
regions bordering Nagorno-Karabakh.
The first part of a plan to renew transport linkages among regional
countries will focus on linking Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia
by fixing unused railways and building new ones.
Transportation from Turkey to Armenia would be supported by railway
and a new highway in order to increase trade and human traffic between
the two countries.
November/08/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-could-reopen-railway-in-parallel-with-karabakh-progress-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57565