PanARMENIAN.Net
Rasim Aghayev: Baku should take retaliatory measures as regards Turkey
19.07.2008 14:42 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `I want to remind you that several years ago we all
witnessed resentment of President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev over the
expansion of Turkish-Armenian relations. At that time a group of
business people of Turkey announced that Armenia is a good and
perspective market for Turkish goods and services and there is a need
to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations. And only after Heydar Aliyev
left for Turkey, where he met with the country’s leadership and spoke
before the Turkish parliament, it became possible to stop talks about
possible opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, deepening of ties
between Turkey and Armenia. But the very fact of such feeling in
Turkey proved existence of people, who spoke for normalization of the
Turkish-Armenian relations,’ Rasim Aghayev said.
‘It seems that this attitude of mind got support from outside and in
this connection it should be reminded that this very government held a
meeting, condemning the murder of the Armenian journalist Hrant
Dink. All this means that the incumbent leadership of Turkey is ready
to undertake steps for normalization of relations with Armenia.’
Aghayev wondered whether Turkey can agree to exchange Nagorno Karabakh
for Armenia’s rejection of the wordwide campaign for recognition of
the Armenian Genocide. `I think Turkish leadership can do it. But this
will be Turkey’s mistake, as concessions in Nagorno Karabakh conflict
will be immediately entail concessions in the genocide issue, what
implies compensations to the victims of the genocide and Armenia’s
territorial claims,’ he said, Day.az reports.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday appeared to confirm a report in
the Turkish media that Turkish and Armenian officials had secret talks
in Switzerland earlier this month. The report in the Hurriyet daily
said the officials met for a few days starting on July 8 and that a
senior Foreign Ministry official headed the Turkish delegation.
`Such talks are held from time to time,’ Babacan told reporters.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress