AZERBAIJAN SAYS ARMENIA NOT READY TO END ITS "ISOLATION"
RIA Novosti
22:2416/10/2009
BAKU, October 16 (RIA Novosti) – Azerbaijan’s president said on Friday
that neighboring Armenia must solve the territorial conflict between
the countries before it can re-open ties with Turkey and take part
in regional projects.
Turkey and Armenia signed accords last Saturday to end a century
of hostilities and re-establish diplomatic relations. However,
the deal has yet to be approved by the countries’ parliaments, and
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said it can only be
finalized after Armenia solves its dispute with Azerbaijan over the
Nagorny Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev told a government meeting that the
establishment of relations between Turkey and Armenia while the
Karabakh conflict continues would be against Azerbaijan’s interests.
Azerbaijan fought a war with Armenia over Nagorny Karabakh, a region in
Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population, in 1993. The mountainous
province is now controlled by Armenian-backed forces, and 15 years
of international mediation have failed to end the territorial dispute.
Aliyev said: "The recent events in the region may have inspired
Armenia," but "Azerbaijan will continue to defend its national
interests to the end."
"Azerbaijan’s growing global role will not allow Armenia to break
out of its isolation… Without the involvement of Azerbaijan, not
one project in this region can be realized," he said.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for
Azerbaijan, a predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ally of Ankara,
following the Nagorny Karabakh war.
The signing of the Turkish-Armenian accords in Zurich followed
mediation by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Ankara has also demanded that Yerevan drop its campaign to have the
mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 internationally
recognized as genocide.
Armenia and Turkey agreed to a "roadmap" to normalize their relations
under Swiss mediation this April.