AZERI EXPERTS COMMENT ON TURKISH-ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT

Turan News Agency
Sept 1 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku, 1 September: "I accept it as betrayal of Azerbaijan’s interests
and deception of the Turkish and Azerbaijani public. This contradicts
the promises made personally by [Turkish] Prime Minister [Recep
Tayyip] Erdogan to MPs and the public in Baku", political expert Vafa
Quluzada has told Turan [news agency] in a comment on reports issued
by Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministries on the normalization of
[Armenian-Turkish] relations.

"I think that policy pursued by the Erdogan government runs contrary
to the Turkish public and will undermine Turkey’s reputation and
influence", Quluzada said. He did not rule out that official Baku could
take certain measures in response to Ankara’s actions. These measures
may affect plans on the shipment of hydrocarbons via Turkish territory.

Commenting on the reports, the head of the For Azerbaijan public
forum, Eldar Namazov, told Turan: "In all appearance, the package
of agreements on normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations has been
postponed and a shorter version of the [normalization] process has
been given preference. This means that diplomatic relations between
Ankara and Yerevan will be established at the current stage and the
opening of borders and the beginning of economic cooperation will be
postponed for the next stage", he said.

Namazov underlined that the temporary framework for establishing
diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia during the period
of six months coincides with the date of the football match between
the national teams of both countries in order to enable Armenia’s
President Serzh Sargsyan to attend the game without losing his face
in the framework of the so-called "football diplomacy".

However, there is a need to synchronize the process of the
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations with the process of the
settlement of the [Nagornyy] Karabakh [conflict]. According to Namazov,
there will be no complete normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations
until the initiative to take real steps in Karabakh [conflict]
settlement and liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan
is implemented.

How will the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey
and Armenia affect relations between Baku and Ankara? In response to
this question, Namazov said that this was a stage-by-stage process
and Ankara would consult Baku when making each move.

"Leaders of both countries talked over phone last week and Ankara sent
its high profile Foreign Ministry officials to Baku", Namazov said. In
any case, Baku will closely follow the developments, Namazov added.

Leader of the [opposition] Musavat Party, Isa Qambar, was cautious
in his remarks.

"As far as I know, the two protocols do not include the issue of
opening borders with Armenia. Therefore, we should have an accurate
approach", he said.

Expert Arastun Oruclu said that the current situation is a logical
result of Turkish-Armenian relations over the past years.

"The incumbent Turkish authorities do not take Azerbaijan’s interests
into account," Oruclu said. According to him, Azerbaijan’s position
is weakening, which can be seen as a defeat. "Turkey’s move is a
result of tensions in Azerbaijani-Turkish relations", he said. He
believes that Baku’s pressure on Ankara in March of this year was
groundless. "Azerbaijan has remained all alone and must quickly define
the priorities of its foreign policy", the political expert said.