KARABAKH TALKS NO PLACE FOR TURKEY, SAYS NALBANDIAN

Gaziantep Haber 27
April 17 2009
Turkey

Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Edward Nalbnadian, reiterated on Thursday
his government’s strong opposition to direct Turkish involvement
in international efforts to settle the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,
ArmRadio reported.

17 Nisan 2009 Cuma 16:18

"Turkey will not play the role of a mediator in the Karabakh peace
process," Nalbandian said in a joint press conference in Yerevan with
Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mamedguliev.

Nalbandian’s remarks came after Turkish President Abdullah Gul said his
country is involved in efforts to solve the conflict between Azerbaijan
and Armenia, in addition to discussions over the normalization process
with Yerevan.

"Within this framework, as discussions on issues with Yerevan continue,
we are also involved in efforts to solve the problems between
Azerbaijan and Armenia," Gul said, adding that diplomacy did allow
him to speak publicly about the steps being taken regarding the issue.

Nalbandian, in contrast, expressed Armenia’s support for the integrity
of the OSCE Minsk Group as the chief mediating body for the conflict,
noting that "the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations are underway between
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh" and not with Turkey.

The Turkish government appeared ready to drop that linkage when
it embarked on an unprecedented dialogue with Yerevan last year to
establish diplomatic relations and reopen its border with Armenia,
which it closed in 1993 out of solidarity with Azerbaijan.

But the recent rapprochement between Turkey-Armenia has hit a major
bump in recent weeks, with Ankara echoing Baku’s stern opposition
to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Yerevan before a
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The shift follows threats by Baku to cut off gas supplies to Turkey,
which it says is jeopardizing Azerbaijani national interests with
its negotiations to lift the embargo on Armenia before a Karabakh
settlement.

Mamedguliev on Thursday reiterated Baku’s strong opposition to the
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations before a Karabakh peace
is reached. "Our position is the following: the restoration of links
between Turkey and Armenia may only be conditional on the resolution
of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.

Nalbandian and Mamedguliev were speaking to journalists after the
meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) organization
in Yerevan. Western and Turkish media had speculated that the
Armenian Foreign Minister and his visiting Turkish counterpart, Ali
Babacan, would use the meeting to announce an agreement on a gradual
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations. But that announcement
never came.

Babacan, for his part, refrained from making any public statements to
that tune during his one-day trip, which ended with a meeting with
President Serzh Sarkisian. He did, however, reaffirm the linkage
between the Karabakh conflict and the establishment of diplomatic
ties with Yerevan as he spoke to CNN-Turk television on his way to
Yerevan. According to the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News, he said the
Turkish-Armenian dialogue must run parallel with international efforts
to settle the Karabakh conflict.