THERE IS AGREEMENT ON RESOLVING NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY: TURKSAM DIRECTOR SINAN OGAN

Trend
Jan 14 2010
Azerbaijan

Russia is a strong regional player, as Turkey. Achieving the agreement
between these countries on a certain issue promises concrete results,
even in a long-term prospect, Sinan Ogan, head of the Turkish Center
for International Relations and Strategic Analysis Turksam said.

"Now one can say that the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh problem has
been already agreed with Moscow and Ankara," Ogan told Trend News
over phone from Moscow.

During the talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed the
desire for Russia to play a more active role in resolving the problem
of Nagorno-Karabakh, TRT said.

In his turn, Putin stated about readiness to provide all possible
support in this issue.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding the peace negotiations.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s statement that the
Armenian-Turkish problems and the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are not
connected between each other, should be taken for granted, Ogan said.

He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan
testifies that Moscow pays much attention to these issues.

However, despite the fact that Ankara and Moscow are united in their
desire to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russia is unlikely to
put pressure on Armenia, trying to get progress from it in this issue.

"Russia is historically linked with Armenia by closer ties than with
Turkey," he said.