TURKISH PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN VISITS NAKHIJEVAN
By H. Chaqrian

AZG Armenian Daily
05/06/2008

Armenia-Azerbaijan -Turkey

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Threatening Armenia the Previous Day

On June 3, on the meeting with Minsk Group Co-Chair Matthew Bryza,
Defense Minister of Azerbaijan Safar Abiyev "warned" that the situation
about Nagorno-Karabakh may go out of control in case Armenia does not
withdraw its armed forces from the "occupied territories". Otherwise,
he threatened with the recommencement of the war in Karabakh.

It is unknown, what replied Bryza to this statement, but one thing is
certain: a new war in South Caucasus will shatter the fragile balance
of forces in the region, and that will mean that Russia, France,
the EU and the US will have to concede the political initiative in
the regional affairs to Azerbaijan.

Thus, a new war in Karabakh would be an unwise encroachment upon the
joint initiative of USA, France and Russia and upon the international
prestige of that states. It is obvious that none of those states
is willing to concede the political initiative to a country like
Azerbaijan. Although the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister may understand
this simple truth, his threats of a new war can be considered nothing
than blackmail. Considering the experience of the previous war with
Armenia, Abiyev probably will understand at last that the blackmailing
efforts are vain and will finally come to comprehend at least one of
the aforementioned facts.

But it seems that Abiyev is not the only person so eager for such kind
of "warnings". On the very same day when the aforementioned statement
was made by the Azeri minister, on a visit to the Autonomous Republic
of Nakhijevan President Ilham Aliyev significantly stated that "if
necessary Azerbaijan will be able to apply force and liberate the
occupied territories". In his speech he qualified Armenia as a number
one enemy and said that the army of Nakhijevan must be ready to face
the enemy (i.e. Armenia).

Aliyev’s threats are as vain as Abiyev’s, and they were merely made
on purpose of rousing some stir on the eve of Turkish Prime Minister
Erdogan’s visit to Nakhijevan. Yesterday the President of Azerbaijan
and Prime Minister of Turkey had a private meeting, during which the
Karabakh issue was also considered.

On a press conference, which after followed the private conversation,
Erdogan said, "We, too, want the Karabakh conflict to be solved in
accordance with the principles of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
and of international law. We shall keep on our support with the same
determination. We shall do anything we can to secure the stabile peace
in South Caucasus". He also announced that the inauguration of the
Kars-Akhalkalaq-Tbilisi-Baku railroad is appointed on July 2008. Ilham
Aliyev added that realization of any project in South Caucasus is
impossible without the participation of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Turkey and Azerbaijan also made agreements on opening Baku-Kars and
Nakhijevan-Istanbul flights, as well as cancelling the visa regime
for Turkish citizens in Azerbaijan.

The information on Aliyev-Erdogan meeting in Nakhijevan was picked
from the official website of the Public Television of Turkey. We found
no clues of Erdogan’s approval for Azerbaijani threats against Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress