GUL OPTIMISTIC ON AZERI-ARMENIAN PEACE PROSPECTS

Today’s Zaman
Sept 12 2008
Turkey

Azerbaijan and Armenia are both willing to seek a solution to their
long-running dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, President Abdullah Gul has
said, praising the leaders of both countries for their pro-settlement
stance.

Gul, speaking on Wednesday night upon his return from a visit to
Azerbaijan, said Armenia, which keeps a chunk of Azerbaijani territory
under occupation due to a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, could
withdraw from Azerbaijani territory if a settlement is reached. "The
Armenians have the will to withdraw from Azerbaijani territory if a
lasting agreement is reached between Azerbaijan and Armenia," he told
reporters. Turkey closed its border and severed diplomatic ties with
Armenia in 1993 in protest of occupation of the Azerbaijani territory.

But Gul took a landmark step on Saturday to break the ice and visited
Armenia to watch a World Cup qualifying game between national teams
of the two countries. The visit has been largely welcomed at home
but it also raised concerns that ties with Azerbaijan could be damaged.

Gul, who met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ä°lham Aliyev, on
Wednesday evening during his one-day visit, said he saw no sign of
Azerbaijani resentment over his Armenia trip. "I have seen there the
same honest, clear, sincere desire for a solution and respect for
the adversary that I witnessed earlier in Armenia," Gul said.

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Wednesday that he might meet
with his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts in New York this
month on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly meeting to discuss
the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Progress on this track could normalize
relations between Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan and would boost
Turkey’s influence in the region. Turkey has proposed a Caucasus
Stability and Cooperation Platform to resolve regional conflicts after
a brief Georgian-Russian war last month. The platform is planned to
bring together Turkey, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan and Georgia around
the same table.

Gul said Aliyev appreciated Turkey’s efforts for solution of the
regional conflicts, including the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. "We
agreed that there must be attempts to solve an issue that has remained
unresolved for the past 17 years. We may not have a similar opportunity
in the future. Everybody knows that," he said.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Gul after their talks, Aliyev
also said he was optimistic. "There are some factors and news that
give hope. We look to the future with increasing hopes," Aliyev said.

He said the failure to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem was a
source of danger for Azerbaijan and the entire region and insisted
that the dispute must be resolved at once. Elaborating on how a
solution could be reached, he said the territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan must be restored and Armenian forces must withdraw from
Azerbaijani territory.

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