Yeni Azarbaycan, Azerbaijan
Sept 4 2009

Azeri politicians rap Turkish-Armenian rapprochement ahead of Karabakh
solution

Azerbaijani politicians believe that the protocols signed recently on
establishing Turkish-Armenian ties and opening the border between the
two countries will harm Azerbaijan’s interests and ties with Turkey.

In an interview with the ruling New Azerbaijan Party’s (NAP) Yeni
Azarbaycan newspaper, NAP deputy executive secretary and MP Mubariz
Qurbanli said: "Azerbaijan does not regard acceptable the
establishment of ties between Turkey and Armenia until the Nagornyy
Karabakh problem is resolved".

Qurbanli said that rapprochement with Armenia before the settlement of
the problem was against Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s interests. He said
that Turkey wanted to achieve peace and stability in the region by
taking that step. "However, history shows that one should not trust
the Armenians," he added.

In an interview with the Azadliq newspaper, the leader of the
opposition Liberal Party of Azerbaijan, Lala Sovkat Haciyeva, urged
President Ilham Aliyev to express his position on the ongoing
developments.

"It is very likely there have been some consultations [with the
Azerbaijani president] on this issue. However, the head of Azerbaijan
should express his opinion on the developments," Haciyeva said.

The politician noted that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
said in the Azerbaijani parliament in May 2009 that the borders would
open after the Karabakh settlement.

"In any case, I want to believe that Erdogan will be loyal to his
word. Otherwise, this will be a great blow to Azerbaijan’s national
interests and will seriously harm ties between the two fraternal
countries," Haciyeva said.

In a comment on the developments, the opposition Yeni Musavat
newspaper quoted unnamed observers as saying that Baku’s reaction was
rather soft now unlike its reaction to the agreement on a road map
signed between Turkey and Armenia this April.

"This gives rise to the opinion that Baku has blessed the
Armenian-Turkish agreement… Although the agreement was made public
later, Turkey informed Baku about it last week. It seems that the
Turkish authorities convinced Baku this time as well that the opening
of the border with Armenia will depend on the Karabakh issue," Yeni
Musavat said.

The paper added that although the protocols to be signed with Armenia
did not contain any preconditions on Karabakh, Turkey hinted that by
delaying the ratification of those documents in parliament, it had a
chance to make their implementation dependent on the resolution of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict.

Speaking about the impact of the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement on
major economic projects in an interview to the independent Ekspress
newspaper, economic expert Sabit Bagirov said that if the protocols
envisaging the resumption of Turkish-Armenian ties were ratified at
the level of parliaments, the EU might demand that technical changes
be made to the Nabucco gas pipeline and that it pass not via Georgia,
but Armenia. He said that this was a political issue.

"First, I do not believe that the Turkish parliament will take such a
decision. Second, this is an unrealistic idea and I do not believe
that it will materialize, because the Azerbaijani authorities have
repeatedly stated that Azerbaijan will not transport its hydrocarbons
via Armenia until the occupied territories are liberated and the
Karabakh problem is resolved," Bagirov said.

Ekspress said that the Nabucco pipeline company, which will construct
the pipeline, also did not rule out Armenia’s participation in the
project.

"We have stated repeatedly that this project is open to any state
wishing to join it. If this is the case, then Armenia or another
country which might be considered as an effective option to increase
the pipeline’s profitability can join the project," Ekspress quoted an
unnamed source at the company as saying.