AZERBAIJANI FM TO VISIT TURKEY
Today’s Zaman
Dec 22 2009
Turkey
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will pay an official
visit to Turkey at the invitation of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu Dec. 25-26 to discuss bilateral relations and the protracted
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a Foreign Ministry statement said on Monday.
The visit is expected to include private and committee meetings with
Foreign Minister Davutoglu as well as meetings with President Abdullah
Gul, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin and Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. "Along with discussing bilateral relations with the
Azerbaijani foreign minister, the talks will also cover regional
problems that concern both nations particularly including the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the statement read.
Although Azerbaijani-Turkish relations have been strained over the
protocols signed between Armenia and Turkey on Oct. 10 to normalize
relations and establish diplomatic ties, the Foreign Ministries of both
countries recently announced that they would annul visa requirements
between the two countries. The Turkish-Armenian protocols included
a provision that would open the border between the two countries
within two months once the protocols are ratified, which angered
Azerbaijan. Erdogan’s remarks following his White House meeting with US
President Barack Obama on Dec. 7 affirming that the border will be kept
closed until there is a breakthrough in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
has been largely welcomed among the Azerbaijani public and government.
The statement also said the Azerbaijani foreign minister’s visit will
also create an opportunity to display the political will to strengthen
solidarity and mutual understanding between the two countries.
Davutoglu met with his Azerbaijani counterpart on Oct. 24 this year
in Baku to alleviate tensions surrounding Turkish-Armenian relations
and mitigate the so-called flag crisis.