Today’s Zaman, Turkey
April 12 2009

Dialogue with Azerbaijan a must to mitigate tension, experts say

Many believe that the two countries are indeed of `one nation, two
states.’

Although both the United States and the European Union have lauded
Turkey’s efforts in trying to mend its relations with Armenia, the
Turks’ long-standing friends, the Azerbaijanis, do not seem so content
with the ongoing improvement in Turkish-Armenian relations and in
particular with speculation that Turkey may soon open its border with
Armenia — a situation experts interpret as being highly fragile while
drawing attention to the necessity for the Turkish side to clearly
express its political approaches to Azerbaijan and to urge Armenia to
make compromises within the normalization efforts as well.

Sitting on highly strategic energy transport routes from Central Asia
to Europe, Azerbaijan holds tremendous importance for both Turkey and
the EU in terms of diversifying their energy procurement and in
particular in liberating themselves from their dependence on Russian
energy. However, Azerbaijan is not only a strategic partner; it also
carries symbolic meaning for Turkey. Many believe that Azerbaijan and
Turkey are indeed `one nation with two states’ as the late Azerbaijani
President Haydar Aliyev said, summarizing the closeness between the
two countries.

President of the Turkish Center for International Relations and
Strategic Studies (TURKSAM) Sinan Ogan and Dr. Alesker Aleskerli from
the Eurasian Center for Strategic Studies (ASAM) told Sunday’s Zaman
that the bond between Azerbaijan and Turkey is like no other bilateral
relationship because it relies mostly on emotions rather than
logic. Nonetheless, in spite of all the empathy each side has for the
other, the relations between the two are currently strained. Baku
reacted harshly to speculation that the Turkish border with Armenia
may be opened after it was closed in 1993 by Turkey to show support
for Azerbaijan’s cause when the country was fighting a war with
Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Among the reactions coming from the Azerbaijani side is the is the
cancelation by the country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, of his
participation in the second forum of the United Nations Alliance of
Civilizations (UNAOC), a two-day event held in Ä°stanbul at the
beginning of the week. Criticism has also come from the Azerbaijani
Parliament. The governing and opposition parties released a joint
statement to express discontent with the possible move by the Turkish
government. Parliament Speaker Oktay Esedov said Turkey’s opening of
the border without a resolution found for the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict will negatively affect the relations between Turkey and
Azerbaijan. `The border opening is good neither for Turkey nor for
us. We are strictly opposed to it,’ Esedov argued.

Whereas tension was being fueled by the supposition that Turkey and
Armenia could reach a deal to open their border as early as this
month, a government official speaking on condition of anonymity told
Sunday’s Zaman that the Turkish-Armenian border could be opened in
October, when Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan is due to visit Turkey
to watch a World Cup qualifying match between the national teams.

In answer to Sunday’s Zaman’s question as to what kind of a position
the Turkish state should adopt in the fragile balance of its relations
with Armenia and Azerbaijan, OÄ?an stressed that Turkey has a
problem with communication in Azerbaijan at the grassroots level,
which escalates reactions. `Azerbaijanis do not think of Turkey as a
foreign country. They hold it in high esteem and while they feel
respect, they also expect a lot. Unfortunately, Turkey cannot
communicate its political approach effectively to them. Considering
the fact that the border issue is highly sensitive and people are
reacting emotionally because of the image of Turkey they have in their
minds, it is an urgent requirement for the Turkish state to manifest
its political inclinations to the Azerbaijani people,’ OÄ?an
argued. He added that Turkey needs to recalculate the costs and
benefits of its moves — opening the border with Armenia does not
guarantee a complete normalization of bilateral relations since
Armenia will not cease to seek international recognition of the
killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans in 1915 as genocide
— and losing Azerbaijan as a consequence is not a good one.

Having agreed with OÄ?an on the importance of communicating with
the Azerbaijani people, Dr. Aleskerli stressed that a healthy
political dialogue through which misunderstandings and mistrust cannot
prevail is also essential. `In normal diplomatic talks, there is
always some information not presented to the media; however, the
details of the talks between Turkey and Azerbaijan need to be publicly
announced considering the high sensitivity and fragility of the issue
in the eyes of the people,’ Aleskerli asserted.

Neither of the experts speaking to Sunday’s Zaman categorically
rejected a possible opening of the border; however, they both
underlined that the circumstances need to be arranged for a successful
step forward. OÄ?an and Aleskerli further argued that Armenia
should be convinced to make compromises as well because `so far all
the steps have been taken by the Turkish side,’ a situation which
makes Azerbaijanis think that their welfare is being completely
ignored in this rapprochement.

12 April 2009, Sunday
M. EDÄ°B YILMAZ Ä°STANBUL