TURKEY WELCOMES MINSK GROUP’S KARABAKH STATEMENT

Hurriyet/Turkish Daily News
July 13 2009
Turkey

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has welcomed a joint statement from the
United States, France and Russia as the co-chairmen of OSCE’s Minsk
Group on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

In a statement released from the Group of Eight summit in Italy on
Friday, the United States, France and Russia called for the leaders
of Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle a long-running row over the
Nagorno-Karabakh region. The three countries said they "affirm our
commitment" to efforts by Armenia and Azerbaijan to finalize "the
basic principles for the settlement" of the conflict.

A day after the so-called Minsk Group’s statement, the Turkish Foreign
Ministry said the joint statement referred to the "basic principles
for the settlement of the Karabakh problem" submitted to Armenia and
Azerbaijan on November 2007 in Madrid, noting that "the principles
in question formed a whole, reflecting the stances of both parties."

"The parties should assume a constructive approach and consider the
importance given to the matter by the co-chairmen. Both Azerbaijan
and Armenia should achieve a final solution in this conflict, which
continues to be a bleeding wound for the south Caucasus region,"
the Anatolia news agency quoted the ministry’s statement as saying.

Border issue:

Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been under the
control of ethnic Armenian forces since a six-year conflict that
killed about 30,000 people and displaced 1 million before a truce
was reached in 1994.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan
during its conflict with Armenia. Mediators from the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, who have been monitoring
peacemaking efforts, had reported in early May that they saw signs
of progress.

As peace efforts in the South Caucasus intensify, Armenia has
reaffirmed it wants to restore ties with Turkey and open its borders
without any preconditions.

The statement came from Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian,
who spoke at a joint news conference with U.S. Deputy Secretary of
State James Steinberg, Armenian dailies reported. "As it was previously
said, Armenia is ready to normalize relations with Turkey without any
preconditions," he said. "Now we are waiting for a response from the
Turkish side."