UPI United Press International
April 10 2009

Baku, Ankara and soccer diplomacy

ANKARA, Turkey, April 10

Washington’s effort at restoring diplomatic relations between Turkey
and Armenia faces derailment without support from Azerbaijan.

U.S. President Barack Obama phoned his Azeri counterpart, Ilham
Aliyev, during a visit to Ankara earlier in the week in an effort to
smooth over regional rancor.

At stake are outstanding issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan
regarding disputes over Nagorno-Karabakh and historical acrimony
between Armenia and Turkey from the Armenian massacres under the
Ottoman Empire in World War I.

Apart from regional concerns, Azerbaijan sits as a major energy hub,
hosting the Shah Deniz gas field, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline
and possibly the planned Nabucco pipeline to Europe, all key interests
of Ankara.

Baku, however, issued harsh statements in response to a Turkish
decision to consider reopening the border with Armenia, saying the
proposal was a blow to Turkish-Azeri relations.

Government officials told Today’s Zaman that Turkey plans to open the
border in October in time for a World Cup qualifying match with
Armenia, giving Ankara the time needed to placate any concerns from
Baku.