TURKEY TO PUSH INTERNATIONAL ACTORS FOR A SWIFT MOVE IN NAGORNO

Hurriyet Daily News
Sept 2 2009
Turkey

Promising its closest ally Azerbaijan that it won’t leave it in the
lurch, Turkey will try to press influential countries to let them
push for a swift development on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem between
Yerevan and Baku.

"To be able to turn this normalization [between Turkey and Armenia]
into permanent peace, we are expecting a forthwith settlement on
the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the contributions of
the international community," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told
reporters late Tuesday.

As stated in the joint statement issued by Turkey and Armenia, under
Swiss mediation, the two countries will complete internal political
deliberation on the signing of the two protocols for the establishment
of relations within six weeks. Then two countries will have to complete
parliamentary ratification processes to let the protocols enter into
force. If there are no delays, the process is expected to be completed
before the end of this year or early 2010.

However, Turkey could face great difficulty if there are no
improvements on the Nagorno-Karabakh track. Turkey earlier assured
Azerbaijan that it would not open the border with Armenia if Armenian
troops do not withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Turkey has already launched a new diplomatic initiative for mobilizing
international actors in this regard, according to sources. Davutoglu
held a long phone conversation with the foreign ministers of France
and the United States, two members of the Minsk Group, tasked for the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. The issue was already largely
discussed with Russia, the third member of the Minsk Group. Davutoglu
will continue to discuss the issue with his counterparts on every
occasion, sources stated.

The issue will also be on the agenda of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, who will attend the U.N. General Assembly late September. The
Foreign Ministry is trying to arrange bilateral meetings with the
United States, France and Russia with Erdogan. In any case, Erdogan
will be able to take the issue to the G-8 meeting in Pittsburgh at
the end of this month.

One of the short-term expectations is to let Armenia and Azerbaijan
agree on an interim agreement for the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. A meeting
between the leaders of the two countries is scheduled for Nov. 8
in Moldova during the summit of the Community of the Independent
States. Accompanied with this deal, Armenia’s decision to withdraw
from some surrounding regions of Nagorno-Karabakh will be a very
important additional step that would facilitate the reconciliation
process between the three countries.