LEADER OF TURKISH LIBERAL-DEMOCRATIC PARTY: TURKEY OVERESTIMATES ITS OPPORTUNITIES IN AZERBAIJAN

ArmInfo
2009-09-28 17:41:00

ArmInfo. Turkey overestimates its opportunities in Azerbaijan,
Leader of the Liberal-Democratic Party of Turkey Cem Toker told
ArmInfo correspondent, Monday.

At the same time, overestimating its opportunities, the authorities of
or country underestimate the responses from Azerbaijan in the context
of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. Therefore today Turkey
can’t play a mediator’s role in the region only by participating in
the events, he stressed.

According to the Turkish politician, being a Muslim country, Turkey
can’t simply be a mediator as it holds an openly pro-Muslim position
with respect to not only the Nagorno-Karabakh, but also any other
conflict in the region.

He added that Turks are brothers of not only Azeri people, but also
Arabs and any other nation professing Islam, therefore Turkey’s real
opportunities in respect of mediation in a conflict are quite modest,
the Turkish politician concluded.

The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey have agreed to
start their internal political consultations on the two protocols –
the "Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations" and the
"Protocol on the development of bilateral relations" – which have been
initiated in the course of their efforts under Swiss mediation. The
two Protocols provide for a framework for the normalization of their
bilateral relations within a reasonable timeframe. The political
consultations will be completed within six weeks, following which
the two Protocols will be signed and submitted to the respective
Parliaments for the ratification on each side.