TURKEY STILL COMMITTED TO PRECONDITIONS IN ARMENIA TALKS

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July 30, 2009

ANKARA (Combined Sources)-Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said Wednesday the Turkish government is still "resolute" in its drive
to normalize relations with neighboring Armenia, but reiterated that
the Turkish-Armenia border will not open until the Karabakh conflict
is solved in Azerbaijan’s favor, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The top Turkish diplomat told a press conference after his meeting
with visiting Bosnian Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj that the Turkish
government is hopeful about the normalization of ties with Armenia.

"We believe that the most extensive normalization would be seen in
our region in the coming period," Davutoglu said. "But at the same
time, it is important for us to see the same determination from the
international community and especially from Armenia on the conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan."

Davutoglu’s remarks come a day after Armenia’s President, Serzh
Sarkisian, insisted that Ankara must reopen the Turkish-Armenian border
and make concrete steps toward ending its blockade of Armenia before
the stalled negotiations can continue. Sarkisian was set to travel to
Turkey in October to attend a Turkish-Armenian soccer match, which
would continue the so called "soccer diplomacy" begun last October
when Turkish President Abdullah Gul travelled to Armenia in September
2008 to watch 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier match

Turkish intransigence in the negotiations process has brought the
year-long US brokered talks between the two countries to a standstill
as Ankara seeks to convince international mediators that a quick
resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is the key to saving
Armenia-Turkey negotiations.

Speaking to the Turkish service of RFE/RL on Wednesday, Matthew Bryza,
the American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group mediating the Karabakh
conflict said he regretted that "the activeness we witnessed in the
Armenian-Turkish relations recently, is frozen today,"adding that he
believed the "the existence of the Karabakh conflict exerts a negative
influence on the Armenian-Turkish relations."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress