TURKISH PRESIDENT VOWS TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS OF CAUCASIA ALTOGETHER

Xinhua
Nov 6 2008
China

ANKARA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) — Turkish President Abdullah Gul said
Wednesday that Turkey and Azerbaijan are dealing with the problems
of Caucasia in a brave manner altogether.

Speaking at a joint press conference following his talks with visiting
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the Turkish capital of Ankara,
Gul said that "Caucasian leaders display the will to resolve problems
in various platforms. This is a very positive development."

"It is in the interest of all in the Caucasus to develop
cooperation. Within this framework, Turkey proposed the Caucasus
cooperation and stability platform. A climate of understanding
viadialog will help resolve problems in the Caucasus. I can state
that a new process began to solve the Karabagh problem," Gul stressed.

Reminding that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian
President Serzh Sargsian signed a joint document in Russia recently,
Gul said that Turkey supports the dialog process that began in Moscow.

Gul said that he also discussed energy matters, including the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural
gas pipeline with Azerbaijani president Aliyev.

"These great projects are open to the whole region and will bring
peace and stability," Gul noted.

"Bilateral relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan continue at the
highest level possible," continued Gul.

For his part, Aliyev said Turkey’s proposal on Caucasus stability
and cooperation platform was of great importance for restoration of
peace in the region.

The relations between the two countries contributed to peace,
cooperation and stability in the region, Aliyev said.

The "issues between Azerbaijan and Armenia should be solved
firstly. Azerbaijan expects a fair solution. We are glad that Turkey
exerted great efforts on this matter and I believe that Turkey’s
initiatives will yield favorable outcomes," he concluded.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress