TURKEY’S BABACAN: AZERI, ARMENIAN FMS TO MEET AT UN
Sept 10 2008
Turkey
Turkish FM Babacan said "there were quite a few problematic issues"
between Turkey and Armenia, such as the incidents of 1915, the Upper
Karabakh problem.
Turkey’s foreign minister expressed hope for more dialogue with Armenia
after Turkish and Armenian presidents watched a World Cup qualifying
soccer match in Yerevan last Saturday.
"In the new era for the Turkish-Armenian relations, there will be a
new momentum in dialogue and we are pretty hopeful for the new era
as we have seen a solution-oriented position on the part of Armenia,"
Ali Babacan told a televised interview on Wednesday.
Anatolian News Agency reported Babacan however said "there were
quite a few problematic issues" between Turkey and Armenia, such as
the incidents of 1915, the Upper Karabakh problem. The two countries
also have no diplomatic relations.
Babacan said he had been talking Turkish-Armenian relations with
his counterpart, Eduard Nalbandian, as well as relations between
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"We have an ongoing process between the foreign ministers of the
two countries and we are in search of solutions to the problem,"
Babacan said.
Babacan said he might hold a joint meeting with Azeri and Armenian
foreign ministers on the sidelines of UN General Assembly meetings
in New York.
"Armenia seems to have passed a threshold now, and the diplomatic
traffic and our impression from the Armenian president and the foreign
minister reveals that there is a strong will for solution in Armenia,"
Babacan said.
"They do understand our sensitivities and we do understand theirs. We
have many reasons to be optimistic," he said.
President Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia
on Saturday, a landmark encounter which officials said could help
restore strained ties between the two countries and boost security
in the Caucasus.
Turkey, a transit state for Caspian and Central Asian oil and gas
exports to Europe, was alarmed by the conflict and wants to play a
bigger role in Caucasus security.
Gul will hold talks with his Azeri counterpart in Baku on Wednesday
to discuss a Turkish proposal to establish a security and cooperation
platform for the Caucasus and to brief the president on his visit
to Armenia.