AZERBAIJAN-TURKEY CONTROVERSIES

The Messenger
Dec 16 2008
Georgia

Azeri newspaper Zerkalo commented recently on certain details in the
Azeri-Turkish relationship.

Until recently Turkish-Armenian relations were based on the issue of
the occupation by Armenia of Azeri territories including Karabakh. The
Azeri Foreign Ministry has recently made a statement saying that Turkey
has a complete right to regulate its relations with Armenia without
considering the Azeri position, but in reality Azerbaijan is very
sensitive towards this issue. Azeri public opinion will not accept
a warming of Turkish-Armenian relations without the precondition of
fairly regulating the conflict in Karabakh.

Executive Secretary of the ruling party Ali Akhmedov has several
times stated that Turkey should not take steps which would be against
Azeri interests, meaning that Turkey should not open its borders to
Armenia or establish diplomatic relations with it without resolving
the Karabakh knot.

MP Aidim Mizarzade has asked Turkey to inform Azeri society about
confidential Turkish-Armenian negotiations. Zerkalo thinks that these
might be influenced by the economic factors, in particular the price of
Azeri natural gas transported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ezerum pipeline.

If Turkey will not consider Azeri interests whilst formulating
Turkey-Armenia relations Baku will forget the "brotherly ties" which
currently influence the price of natural gas. Of course Turkey does not
want to upset its neighbour and brother but all kinds of negotiations
are being conducted with Armenia in a confidential and suspicious mode,
even though on the surface the slogan of the eternal brotherhood of
Turkey and Azerbaijan remains unaltered.