AZERI CONSUL GENERAL TO KARS ON POSSIBLE OPENING OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7. ARMINFO. There actually are forces in Turkey
that want the Armenian-Turkish border to be opened, says Azeri Consul
General to Kars (Turkey) Gasan Zeynalov.

It was due to these forces that the 2nd congress in Kars discussed the
border opening issue. On the second day one could already feel that
the organizers were pushing the audience towards the discussion. The
topic of the congress was peace in the Caucasus and the region’s
economic development but being the leading state of the region
Azerbaijan was not even mentioned – the whole economic development
of the region was presented as heavily depending on the opening of
the Armenian-Turkish border.

In his report the cochairman of the Turkish-Armenian business council
Kaan Soyak said that Kars is closed for the world and the only way for
the region’s further development is the opening of the Armenian-turkish
border which is the demand of th Armenian lobby and the Armenians in
Georgia and Armenia.

Zeynalov is not very much concerned as “the above plans are made by
NGOs while the Turkish and Azeri states are true brothers.” The recent
visits of Turkish state ministers to Azerbaijan and their statements
on the subject have shown that the border will not be opened until
Ankara’s requirements are fulfilled.

Zeynalov is against the Jan 2005 tour of friendship by a
non-governmental delegation of Kars to Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and
Nakhichevan. Soyak is planning to be in this delegation consisting
mostly of border opening advocates. “Influential international
organizations are settling the Armenian-Azeri conflict. No NGO can
solve it,” says Zeynalov noting that one of the key obstacles to the
border opening is the Armenian Genocide issue and territorial claims
against Turkey.