Agence France Presse — English
September 11, 2008 Thursday 7:30 AM GMT

Turkish leader optimistic on Azeri-Armenian ties

LENANKARA, Sept 11 2008

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Armenia and Azerbaijan are willing
to resolve their conflict over Nagorny Karabakh region after talks in
the two countries, Anatolia news agency reported Thursday.

Armenia and Azerbaijan both have "a honest and sincere desire for a
settlement," Gul told reporters on a flight back from talks in Baku,
which followed his historic trip to Yerevan on Saturday, Anatolia
reported.

"I am coming back with feelings of great content and optimism," Gul
said, adding that the conflict between Georgia and Russia had
triggered a new desire to resolve outstanding problems in the
Caucasus.

Turkey wants progress in ending Nagorny Karabakh tensions between
Azerbaijan, one of its closest allies, and traditional foe Armenia,
which would allow Ankara to take bolder steps in its reconciliation
bid with Yerevan.

Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of its international campaign for the recognition of the mass killings
of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide.

In 1993, Turkey also dealt a heavy economic blow to its impoverished
eastern neighbour by shutting the border in a show of solidarity with
Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh, an
Armenian-majority region in Azerbaijan which declared independence.

Gul played down suggestions that Ankara’s push to reconcile with
Yerevan had irked Azerbaijan, which has close economic and political
ties as well as ethnic and cultural bonds with Turkey.

"We agree that we should make efforts to try to resolve the
issue… If this opportunity is missed, who knows when a new
opportunity will arise?… Everyone is aware that a settlement will
lead to comprehensive cooperation from which all will benefit," he
said.

Gul became the first Turkish head of state to visit Armenia when he
travelled to Yerevan on Saturday to watch a World Cup qualifying
football match between the two countries on an invitation by Armenian
President Serzh Sarkisian.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Wednesday he was trying to
organise a trilateral meeting with his Azeri and Armenian counterparts
at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this
month.