TURKISH FM SAYS ARMENIAN COUNTERPART EXPECTED TO VISIT TURKEY

Hurriyet
Nov 12 2008
Turkey

Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian is expected to visit
Turkey later this year, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said
Wednesday. (UPDATED)

"I will pay a visit to Azerbaijan in the coming days, and a visit
by Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian of Armenia to Turkey is in
question. The diplomacy traffic in the Caucasus will speed up by
the end of the year," Babacan told a joint press conference with his
Algerian counterpart Mourad Medelci in Ankara.

Babacan added he expected that Turkish President Abdullah Gul and
his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan would meet again soon.

There is no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey over
Armenia’s aggression toward Azerbaijan. But a warmer period began
between Turkey and Armenia after Gul paid a landmark visit to Armenia
early September.

"There has been intense diplomacy traffic between the two countries. On
the other hand, a meeting took place in Moscow, Russia in an effort
to find a solution to the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We
supported the meeting. We also expect Russia to make a significant
contribution to the normalization of Azerbaijan-Armenia relations,"
he said.

Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders met in Moscow earlier this month
and signed a declaration calling for a "peaceful resolution" to
their dispute over the province of Nagorno-Karabakh on the basis of
"binding international guarantees", taking a step further towards
resolution of the conflict.

TANGIBLE RESULTS POSSIBLE Babacan added all parties are willing to
maintain the process, referring to the first tripartite meeting of
Turkish, Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers held in New York

"But we need to determine our agenda carefully to come to tangible
results," he was quoted by Anatolian Agency as saying.

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988 on Armenian
territorial claims over Azerbaijan.

Since 1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20 percent of
Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven
surrounding districts, displacing 10 percent of the Azeri population
in the series of bloody clashes both between and within the two
neighboring countries.

In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group are currently holding peaceful negotiations. Nearly 30,000 were
killed in the 1990s war over the enclave and soldiers on both sides
continue to exchange sporadic fire, claiming lives.

"The most important thing is to secure a lasting peace and stability
in the Caucasus. Therefore, a cooperation and stability platform
including Russia, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia is of great
importance," Babacan added.

Turkey proposed the establishment of a Caucasian Cooperation and
Stability Platform after a brief war broke out in August between
Russia and Georgia.