Azerbaijan condemns Turkish pact

Story from BBC NEWS:
europe/8301314.stm

Published: 2009/10/11 11:47:19 GMT

Azerbaijan has criticised an agreement between Turkey and Armenia,
saying it raises doubts about regional stability.

The Azerbaijani foreign ministry said Turkey should not have normalised
ties without a deal over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

During the war there in 1993, Turkey closed its border with Armenia out
of solidarity for Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s government wants Armenia to withdraw troops from
Nagorno-Karabach and return land.

Turkey and Armenia signed a historic accord on Saturday, paving the way
for the opening of their shared border.

Gritted teeth

BBC South Caucasus correspondent Tom Esslemont says the rapprochement
between Azerbaijan’s best friend and most bitter rival was never going
to be plain sailing in Baku.

On Friday, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman told the BBC
there was a chance that the Turkish-Armenian protocols might never be
ratified by Turkey’s parliament and that he could not comment until
they had.

But a foreign ministry statement, circulated to Azerbaijan’s media
after the agreement was signed on Saturday, said the move to open the
borders would "call into question the regional peace and security
architecture".

A timetable for normalising relations between Turkey and Armenia was
agreed in April, after a century of hostility between the two
neighbours.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress