ABDULLAH GUL GOING TO VISIT AZERBAIJAN SHORTLY

ArmInfo
2009-04-21 16:14:00

President Gul is expected to visit Baku to inform the Azerbaijani
administration about the decisions Turkey has made regarding
normalization with Armenia.

Today’s Zaman reported that The National Security Council (MGK)
will convene to discuss three critical issues — the developments
in neighboring Iraq and a possible amnesty for the members of the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the normalization of relations
with Armenia and the deployment of Turkish troops in Afghanistan —
in its April 28 meeting,

The second item on the agenda of the MGK will be Turkish-Armenian
relations and the Azerbaijani reaction against the possible opening
of Turkish-Armenian border.

‘Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity
with Azerbaijan, which was then fighting a war with Armenia over
Nagorno-Karabakh, but ended up losing the Armenian-dominated enclave as
well as the surrounding region — almost 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s
territory. Until recently, Ankara said Armenian withdrawal from
Nagorno- Karabakh, or at least the region surrounding it, is a
precondition for the restoration of ties with Yerevan. But now Ankara
is engaged in closed-door negotiations with Armenia to normalize
relations. The General Staff and the government agree that Turkey
should not open its border with Armenia without the settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. As the first step for normalization,
Ankara has asked Yerevan to allow Azerbaijanis who were displaced
from five settlements in Karabakh to return to these places.

The formation of a security corridor in Karabakh is among the proposals
of the Turkish government’, the newspaper reported.

‘If Armenia decides to take a step forward regarding the Azerbaijani
refugees, Turkey will initially open the Turkish-Armenia border once
a month and then twice a month. Once there are established ties with
Armenia and the area is secure, the border gate will be open 24 hours
a day.

Following the MGK meeting, President Gul is expected to visit Baku
to inform the Azerbaijani administration about the decisions Turkey
has made regarding normalization with Armenia’, Today’s Zaman reported.