Turkish premier addresses Azerbaijan Assembly on Armenia, Cyprus, EU, Eurasia
Anatolia news agency, Ankara
30 Jun 05
Baku, 30 June: It is obligatory for Armenia, which continues to
occupy Azerbaijani territory in contravention of UN resolutions, to
show its will to improve relations with its neighbours within the
framework of respect to international law and good-neighbourhood,
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday [30 June].
Addressing the Azerbaijani National Assembly, Erdogan underlined
good relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, and said that the
two countries aimed to assure peace, stability and prosperity in
their region.
Erdogan said that Turkey was ready to extend every support to
Azerbaijan during the parliamentary elections due in November, and
stated that Turkey could contribute to the international monitoring
delegation if it was asked to.
Turkey’s EU membership bid
Touching on Turkey’s European Union (EU) membership bid, Erdogan said:
“Turkey should be admitted to the EU. What will happen if it isn’t? We
will continue our path, naming the ‘Copenhagen political criteria’
as ‘Ankara political criteria’. We consider the EU as a union of
values. And, we say that it should also include Muslim countries. The
EU should be the address where civilizations meet and reconcile. If
EU wants to be such an Union, it should admit Turkey.”
Old disputes
“Despite rapid changes in the world, security and stability are
not yet established in international arena,” Erdogan said, adding:
“Old disputes hampered improvement of relations between countries of
the region; fight against cross-border crimes became more and more
difficult each passing day; and proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction caused concerns.”
Erdogan stated that terrorism continued to threaten societies
despite increasing international cooperation, and indicated that the
international community was still searching for peace, stability,
justice, fair distribution of income, better management and efficient
international cooperation.
Turkey’s Eurasia vision
“Linking Europe to Asia through energy pipelines and transit roads,
and creating new dynamics to ensure economic growth are the basis of
Turkey’s Eurasia vision,” said Erdogan.
Erdogan went on saying: “Turkey encourages positive changes in the
region from the Black Sea to the Caucasus, and to the Middle East. It
aims to establish a climate of cooperation instead of tension and
clashes. One of the main targets of our foreign policy is to contribute
to the solution of ongoing disputes in our region.”
“It is for the common interest of Turkey and Azerbaijan to assure
lasting peace, security and stability in Southern Caucasus. Solution
of Upper Karabakh dispute through peaceful means, and by the
safeguard of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, will contribute to
regional stability. The Council of Europe has declared Armenia as
‘occupier’. What they (Armenia) should do is to withdraw from the
Upper Karabakh, as soon as possible. But, instead of doing so, they
(the Armenians) continue their lobby activities and their efforts
to justify their so-called genocide allegations. We have opened our
archives. They have not given an answer yet, because they know they
are wrong,” said Erdogan.
Erdogan noted: “What is important for Turkey regarding the Upper
Karabakh dispute is what the Azerbaijani people want. A solution,
which will be in the best interest of the Azerbaijani people, will
be supported by Turkey.”
Prime Minister Erdogan expressed his belief that Turkey’s EU membership
would also help to the rapprochement of Caucasian peoples with the EU.
Cyprus
Touching on Cyprus problem, Erdogan said: “We know that Azerbaijan
shares our view that Turkish Cypriots should be freed from
international isolation.”
Recalling that Azerbaijan would soon start flights to [self-declared]
TRNC [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus], Erdogan said that Turkish
Cypriots fulfilled their responsibilities, but their interlocutors
did not.
Erdogan later met Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur [Tahir] Rasizada.