Zaman Online, Turkey
June 29 2005

Opening Armenian Border Adds to Caucasus Tension
By Enes Cansever, Ramil Ýsmailov
Published: Wednesday June 29, 2005
zaman.com

On June 28, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to make
his first official visit to Azerbaijan after coming to office.

Within the framework of the two-day visit, Erdogan will meet with
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and other authorities. The visit
will mainly emphasize economic matters. Prime Minister will also
lay the foundations for the new Turkish Embassy building. As well as
confirming Turkey’s full support to Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister is
expected to deliver messages about the Armenian occupation in Karabakh
and the alleged Armenian genocide. Azerbaijan Presidential Foreign
Policy Adviser Nevruz Mehmedov said, “Erdogan’s visit can once again
launch a new turn in the relations between the two countries.” Advising
that the foreign policies of Ankara and Baku were being executed upon
a ‘common’ ground, Mehmedov noted that there was no other two such
states like it in the world.

Mehmedov said Azerbaijan is in favor of Turkey’s current Armenia
policy; the reopening of the Armenian border gate would raise tensions
in the region and worsen the current situation in the Caucasus,
he claimed, asking “What positive steps came from the Armenian party
after the opening of Turkish air space?” Armenia receiving the support
of its Diaspora presses Turkey to reopen of the border gate, he said:
“On the one hand Armenia is willing to get closer with Turkey, on the
other hand it increases its military built up in the vicinity of its
border. What is this built up for?”

On the so-called Armenian Genocide that until recently Turkey has
remained indifferent, Mehmedov suggested, “Turkey could have brought
about a solution before entering the 21st century.” He also pointed
out that the greatest support to Ankara in this regard came from Baku.

Turkey’s Azerbaijan Ambassador Turan Morali said Baku “had to make
encouraging steps” so that Turkey could become more efficient in
the region, during a June 27 news conference. Morali denied any link
between Erdogan’s visit and the domestic politics of Azarbaijan during
the pre-electoral period.

–Boundary_(ID_vYq2aKTKdxY8xfKH7knUbg)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress