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BAKU URGES ANKARA NOT TO REPEAT 2009 'MISTAKE'
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 21 2013
ANKARA - Hurriyet Daily News
by Serkan DemirtaÅ~_
The chief of the foreign relations department of the Azerbaijani
Presidency urges Ankara not to repeat the 2009 'mistake' of attempting
to open borders with Armenia before the country withdraws from
occupied lands
A senior Azeri official has urged Turkey not to repeat the 2009
"mistake" of attempting to open borders with Armenia before the
country withdraws from occupied Azeri lands, underlining that they are
suspicious of similar efforts to revive the stalled process between
Ankara and Yerevan.
"There are such attempts [for the revival of the Ankara-Yerevan
process] these days. I am hopeful and sure that the Turkish leadership
will not take steps contrary to the will of Azerbaijan and the
Azerbaijani people," Novroz Mammadov, chief of the foreign relations
department of the Azerbaijani Presidency, told the Hurriyet Daily
News in an interview on Sept. 19.
Without further elaborating on what these attempts were, Mammadov
said he was talking about "possibilities" rather than concrete moves.
Approached by the Daily News, Turkish diplomatic sources said there
were no intentions for the revival of the reconciliation process
and that Turkey's position vis-a-vis the Nagorno-Karabkh issue had
not changed.
"A step was taken in 2009. An agreement was signed between Turkey
and Armenia under the monitoring of six foreign ministers. It was not
possible to implement this agreement because it was unfair," he said.
"We do not want it to occur a second time."
Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in 2009 but neither side
succeed in bringing them before their Parliament for ratification
and implementation. Turkey stopped the process because of a fierce
reaction from Azerbaijan, 20 percent of whose territory is still
under the occupation of Armenian troops.
"We are grateful for Turkey's support to Azerbaijan with regard to
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. We are regretful because of the failure
of the international community's efforts to resolve the problem since
the early 1990s," he said.
President Ä°lham Aliyev's adviser underlined that Baku was not in fact
against Turkey opening its borders with Armenia but that such a move
should follow a step taken by Yerevan with regard to Nagorno-Karabakh.
"Turkey sealed its borders and cut diplomatic ties with Armenia after
this country occupied our territories and the U.N. Security Council's
resolution on this occupation. We'll have no objection to Turkey
if it says it will move forward with Armenia on condition of ending
this occupation," Mammadov said, in reference to the withdrawal of
Armenian troops from the regions surrounding Karabakh.
There are seven regions occupied and, as the Madrid Principles
recommends, a gradual withdrawal process from such regions would
allow Baku and Yerevan to start political talks for future steps.
"Withdrawal from even three regions would allow the opening of the
Turkish-Armenian border and the beginning of Azerbaijan-Armenia
relations," he said.
TANAP a historic deal
Since 2009, Turkey and Azerbaijan have boosted economic, energy and
political relations. The most important achievement was the signing
of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline Project (TANAP), aiming to carry
Azeri gas to Europe via Turkey.
"Our relations have entered into a new historic phase. The two
countries have proven that they can initiate such projects together
and take advantage of it," Mammadov said.
Recalling that Turkey and Azerbaijan were already connected via the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural
gas pipeline, Mammadov said the accomplishment of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
railway would add another chain to this strong connection.
"TANAP is the joint project of our two countries. Some other countries
have also joined but this project is a success of our countries. Our
brotherly relations have arrived at such a point that we can carry
out such big projects," he said.
TANAP will likely cost $7 billion and is expected to send 6 billion
cubic meters (CBM) of gas to Turkey and 10 billion cbm to Europe
by 2018.
$17 billion Azeri investment
The Azeri diplomat forecast that total Azeri investment into Turkey
would reach around $17 billion by 2020, which would make Baku the
biggest foreign investing country in Turkey. So far, the State Oil
Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has initiated the Petkim
Star Refinery, the Petkim Container Port, the Step Power Plant and the
TANAP project. TANAP will be followed by the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
(TAP) project to carry Azeri natural gas to Greece and Italy.
"These projects will make our relations much more important and will
give an additional impetus to our ties," he said.
September/21/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/baku-urges-ankara-not-to-repeat-2009-mistake.aspx?pageID=238&nID=54852&NewsCatID=338
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 21 2013
ANKARA - Hurriyet Daily News
by Serkan DemirtaÅ~_
The chief of the foreign relations department of the Azerbaijani
Presidency urges Ankara not to repeat the 2009 'mistake' of attempting
to open borders with Armenia before the country withdraws from
occupied lands
A senior Azeri official has urged Turkey not to repeat the 2009
"mistake" of attempting to open borders with Armenia before the
country withdraws from occupied Azeri lands, underlining that they are
suspicious of similar efforts to revive the stalled process between
Ankara and Yerevan.
"There are such attempts [for the revival of the Ankara-Yerevan
process] these days. I am hopeful and sure that the Turkish leadership
will not take steps contrary to the will of Azerbaijan and the
Azerbaijani people," Novroz Mammadov, chief of the foreign relations
department of the Azerbaijani Presidency, told the Hurriyet Daily
News in an interview on Sept. 19.
Without further elaborating on what these attempts were, Mammadov
said he was talking about "possibilities" rather than concrete moves.
Approached by the Daily News, Turkish diplomatic sources said there
were no intentions for the revival of the reconciliation process
and that Turkey's position vis-a-vis the Nagorno-Karabkh issue had
not changed.
"A step was taken in 2009. An agreement was signed between Turkey
and Armenia under the monitoring of six foreign ministers. It was not
possible to implement this agreement because it was unfair," he said.
"We do not want it to occur a second time."
Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in 2009 but neither side
succeed in bringing them before their Parliament for ratification
and implementation. Turkey stopped the process because of a fierce
reaction from Azerbaijan, 20 percent of whose territory is still
under the occupation of Armenian troops.
"We are grateful for Turkey's support to Azerbaijan with regard to
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. We are regretful because of the failure
of the international community's efforts to resolve the problem since
the early 1990s," he said.
President Ä°lham Aliyev's adviser underlined that Baku was not in fact
against Turkey opening its borders with Armenia but that such a move
should follow a step taken by Yerevan with regard to Nagorno-Karabakh.
"Turkey sealed its borders and cut diplomatic ties with Armenia after
this country occupied our territories and the U.N. Security Council's
resolution on this occupation. We'll have no objection to Turkey
if it says it will move forward with Armenia on condition of ending
this occupation," Mammadov said, in reference to the withdrawal of
Armenian troops from the regions surrounding Karabakh.
There are seven regions occupied and, as the Madrid Principles
recommends, a gradual withdrawal process from such regions would
allow Baku and Yerevan to start political talks for future steps.
"Withdrawal from even three regions would allow the opening of the
Turkish-Armenian border and the beginning of Azerbaijan-Armenia
relations," he said.
TANAP a historic deal
Since 2009, Turkey and Azerbaijan have boosted economic, energy and
political relations. The most important achievement was the signing
of the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline Project (TANAP), aiming to carry
Azeri gas to Europe via Turkey.
"Our relations have entered into a new historic phase. The two
countries have proven that they can initiate such projects together
and take advantage of it," Mammadov said.
Recalling that Turkey and Azerbaijan were already connected via the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural
gas pipeline, Mammadov said the accomplishment of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
railway would add another chain to this strong connection.
"TANAP is the joint project of our two countries. Some other countries
have also joined but this project is a success of our countries. Our
brotherly relations have arrived at such a point that we can carry
out such big projects," he said.
TANAP will likely cost $7 billion and is expected to send 6 billion
cubic meters (CBM) of gas to Turkey and 10 billion cbm to Europe
by 2018.
$17 billion Azeri investment
The Azeri diplomat forecast that total Azeri investment into Turkey
would reach around $17 billion by 2020, which would make Baku the
biggest foreign investing country in Turkey. So far, the State Oil
Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has initiated the Petkim
Star Refinery, the Petkim Container Port, the Step Power Plant and the
TANAP project. TANAP will be followed by the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline
(TAP) project to carry Azeri natural gas to Greece and Italy.
"These projects will make our relations much more important and will
give an additional impetus to our ties," he said.
September/21/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/baku-urges-ankara-not-to-repeat-2009-mistake.aspx?pageID=238&nID=54852&NewsCatID=338