Mulling Nagorno-Karabakh knot
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Cansu Çamlibel
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 17, 2009 00:00
YEREVAN - Ongoing talks between Turkey and Armenia to establish diplomatic ties and open the sealed border will unlikely produce an "immanent breakthrough," according to reports from the foreign minister’s meetings in Yerevan yesterday.
This is in contrast to expectations that a major step would be taken ahead of April 24, the day that commemorates the mass killings of Armenians 1915.
The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory occupied by Armenia in 1993, bore its full weight upon prospects of improved ties between Yerevan and Ankara.
At a critical time, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan went to Yerevan to participate in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, or BSEC, ministerial meeting, where he had bilateral talks with Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani officials. "A negotiation is underway, we are very close to a solution but works are still going on," Armenain Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan stressed at a joint press conference with Babacan and Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad Guliyev at the end of the meeting.
Babacan also met with Armenian President Serge Sarkisian before leaving Yerevan late yesterday in a spontaneous meeting where Nalbandian and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ertuğrul Apakan were also present. According to diplomats, Turkish and Armenian officials reviewed the current situation in the talks between the two countries and exchanged goodwill messages to one another.
Babacan's message was not only aimed at easing Azerbaijan's concerns but also to reflect the fact that "there would be no an imminent agreement between Turkey and Armenia." Azerbaijan made it clear that they would accept no solution without resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Guliyev said that while Armenia-Turkey relations are those countries’ affairs, talks between the two must be related to the resolution of Armenian-Azerbaijani problems. "Turkish-Armenian relations had been cut because of Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories," Guliyev said. Turkey had sealed its borders with Armenia in support of Azerbaijan after Armenia’s occupation of mainly Armenian populated Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijani territories that link the region to its soil in 1993.
Guliyev said he did not discuss the claims that the Turkish-Armenian border would be opened during his meeting with Babacan. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan last week said he hoped that a major agreement could be signed with Turkey before a European cup football game between Turkey and Armenia on Oct. 7.
Recognizing the need to match the speed of Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations with bilateral talks between Turkey and Armenia, Babacan spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during the conference and urged him to speed up the Minsk Process, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, initiative launched in 1993 to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
"We want a comprehensive solution and full normalization in our relations with Armenia. We want a solution that can make Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia happy," Babacan told reporters on his way to Yerevan.
Guliyev said he was expecting developments in Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations. "But the process has lasted for so long and we do not have any concrete results. The deadline for us is as soon as possible," he said.
Tracing the framework of an acceptable solution for Azerbaijan, Guliyev said that Armenians should eventually withdraw from all occupied territories if an agreement is to be finalized. "Babacan said that in the context of BSEC, these meetings are like 90-minute football matches. But without a goal there is no result. Though we should do the same with our wishes in the context of BSEC," Guliyev said, referring to his bilateral talks with Babacan. "The match is going on for Nagorno-Karabakh, but there is no goal and there is no result," Guliyev said. During Obama’s Turkey visit, the Turkish side conveyed Azerbaijani concerns and introduced the importance of Azerbaijan, he said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in Ankara said that Russia is committed to the development of a good neighborhood between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms in a written statement released yesterday, the day when Russian President Dimity Medvedev spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory occupied by Armenia in 1993, bore its full weight upon prospects of improved ties between Yerevan and Ankara.
At a critical time, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan went to Yerevan to participate in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, or BSEC, ministerial meeting, where he had bilateral talks with Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani officials. "A negotiation is underway, we are very close to a solution but works are still going on," Armenain Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan stressed at a joint press conference with Babacan and Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad Guliyev at the end of the meeting.
Babacan also met with Armenian President Serge Sarkisian before leaving Yerevan late yesterday in a spontaneous meeting where Nalbandian and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ertuğrul Apakan were also present. According to diplomats, Turkish and Armenian officials reviewed the current situation in the talks between the two countries and exchanged goodwill messages to one another.
Babacan's message was not only aimed at easing Azerbaijan's concerns but also to reflect the fact that "there would be no an imminent agreement between Turkey and Armenia." Azerbaijan made it clear that they would accept no solution without resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Guliyev said that while Armenia-Turkey relations are those countries’ affairs, talks between the two must be related to the resolution of Armenian-Azerbaijani problems. "Turkish-Armenian relations had been cut because of Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories," Guliyev said. Turkey had sealed its borders with Armenia in support of Azerbaijan after Armenia’s occupation of mainly Armenian populated Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijani territories that link the region to its soil in 1993.
Guliyev said he did not discuss the claims that the Turkish-Armenian border would be opened during his meeting with Babacan. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan last week said he hoped that a major agreement could be signed with Turkey before a European cup football game between Turkey and Armenia on Oct. 7.
Recognizing the need to match the speed of Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations with bilateral talks between Turkey and Armenia, Babacan spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during the conference and urged him to speed up the Minsk Process, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, initiative launched in 1993 to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
"We want a comprehensive solution and full normalization in our relations with Armenia. We want a solution that can make Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia happy," Babacan told reporters on his way to Yerevan.
Guliyev said he was expecting developments in Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations. "But the process has lasted for so long and we do not have any concrete results. The deadline for us is as soon as possible," he said.
Tracing the framework of an acceptable solution for Azerbaijan, Guliyev said that Armenians should eventually withdraw from all occupied territories if an agreement is to be finalized. "Babacan said that in the context of BSEC, these meetings are like 90-minute football matches. But without a goal there is no result. Though we should do the same with our wishes in the context of BSEC," Guliyev said, referring to his bilateral talks with Babacan. "The match is going on for Nagorno-Karabakh, but there is no goal and there is no result," Guliyev said. During Obama’s Turkey visit, the Turkish side conveyed Azerbaijani concerns and introduced the importance of Azerbaijan, he said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy in Ankara said that Russia is committed to the development of a good neighborhood between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms in a written statement released yesterday, the day when Russian President Dimity Medvedev spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.