ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN DECIDE TO WORK ON A LASTING PEACE DEAL: TURKISH FM

Hurriyet
Dec 5 2008
Turkey

Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers decided to work on a
lasting peace agreement in their trilateral meeting with Turkish
foreign minister on the sidelines of a OSCE summit. (UPDATED)

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met Thursday his counterparts,
Edward Nalbandian of Armenia and Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan,
on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting in Helsinki.

"I see this decision as an important one made to solve the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute," he was quoted by Anatolian Agency as
telling reporters after he returned from Finland.

Babacan said representatives of five countries including Turkey,
Georgia, Azerbaijan Russia and Armenia that were expected to set up
the Caucasus Stability & Cooperation Platform, also met in Helsinki
and exchanged views on the goals, principles, and mechanisms of
the platform.

The Turkish foreign minister also said he debated general developments
in the Caucasus and Nagorno-Karabakh dispute during his visit to
Baku and Caucasian issues, Russia-NATO relationship, Georgia-Ukraine
committees, and the situation in Afghanistan and Kosovo in the NATO
meeting in Brussels.

AGREEMENT ON CONTINUATION OF MEETINGS

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers agreed to continue such
contacts; while an official from the OSCE Minsk Group said the
border between two countries will open soon, media reports suggested
on Friday.

Babacan and Nalbandian agreed to continue such meetings, Public Radio
of Armenia and Russian Interfax news agency reported.

"The foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey met in Helsinki on
December 4. At their meeting, the parties continued negotiations
intended to help straighten out the Armenian-Turkish relationship,"
an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Interfax.

The two countries have no diplomatic relations and their border
has been closed for more than a decade, as Armenia presses the
international community to admit the so-called "genocide" claims
instead of accepting Turkey’s call to investigate the allegations,
and Armenia’s invasion of 20 percent territory of Azerbaijan.

A warmer period began in the relations when Turkish President Abdullah
Gul paid a landmark visit to Yerevan in September. Two countries have
been holding contacts on the minister level since.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Turkey believes the renewed dialogue with Armenia could contribute to
the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, an Azerbaijani under
the occupation of Armenia.

An official from the OSCE said 2008 was a good year in the sense of
the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"I have often recalled the so-called golden opportunity, and after
today’s meeting it seems to me that the work on the basic principles
will complete next spring and them it will be possible to work at
the agreement. But everything certainly depends on the will of the
parties", the special rapporteur of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
on South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh Goran Lennmarker was quoted as
saying by the Azerbaijani media.

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.

Lennmarker added Turkey’s mediation on the conflict was a good
initiative and it is not good not only for Azerbaijan but also for
Armenia. He also voiced hope that the border between Armenia and
Turkey will open soon.

Turkey had offered Armenia to open the border on the condition of
the establishment of a joint commission to investigate the 1915
incidents. Armenia has been dragging its feet on accepting the
proposal.

TALKS GOING WELL

Babacan said earlier Friday that talks between Turkey and Armenia as
well as Azerbaijan and Armenia were going well.

"I can say that things are going well both in the process between
Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as between Turkey and Armenia and
I hope that the talks would yield the desired result, which is the
total normalization of relations," Babacan was quoted by Anatolian
Agency as telling reporters in Helsinki.

Babacan said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was a complicated issue
with many levels, but added that both Azeri and Armenian presidents
had the political will to find a solution.

The Turkish foreign minister also held talks with co-chairs of the
Minsk Group dealing with the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in Helsinki.

He said the U.S., Russia and France also extended support for the
process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"I have told all parts that they should not miss the opportunity for
a solution, and I hope these efforts will yield result to help create
a new atmosphere of peace, stability and security in the Caucasus,"
Babacan said.