TURKISH MINISTER IN MUNICH DISCUSSES ARMENIA, BALKANS

news.az
Feb 8 2010
Azerbaijan

Ahmet Davutoglu Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has raised Ankara’s
concerns over the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation process with Swiss
and US officials.

Speaking to Turkish journalists as part of the 46th Munich Conference
on Security, Davutoglu said that the normalization process of relations
between Turkey and Armenia was something to which "we gave detailed
consideration and something that includes a vision".

"This vision involves not merely the normalization of relations
between Turkey and Armenia but also the improvement of Turkish-Armenian
commercial relations and turning the Caucasus into an area of peace
and well-being," he said. "There will certainly be ups and downs
during the process and some difficulties may be experienced.

We knew that the process might develop this way from the beginning.

Our thoughts, concerns and unease on this matter are clear. We
discussed the situation that arose after the recent decision by the
Armenian Constitutional Court (on the protocols signed by Turkey and
Armenia in 2009) with all the relevant parties in an extremely open
way. Within this framework, we hope that the process will continue
in accordance with the vision we have determined and that, at the
end, we will establish new peace and stability in the region which
could benefit the Turkish and Armenian peoples, Turkey and Armenia,
as well as the Azerbaijanis. We will never stop efforts on this and
we are committed to move the process according to the principles
established at the beginning."

Touching on his bilateral talks in Munich, Mr Davutoglu said that
he had held an extremely comprehensive meeting with the president of
Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.

"We discussed with President Aliyev the results of the trilateral
summit held by Russian President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan and Aliyev in Sochi, the recent developments
in the region, the latest point reached on Nagorno-Karabakh, and
Turkish-Armenian relations," he said.

Davutoglu said that he and head of the Federal Department of Foreign
Affairs of the Swiss Federation, Micheline Calmy-Rey, "a dignitary
who played a crucial role in normalizing relations between Turkey and
Armenia", discussed the normalization process and that he conveyed
Turkey’s thoughts on the issue.

"Within this context, I had talks with the deputy secretary of
the US State Department, James B. Steinberg. Mr Steinberg was in
Yerevan. He informed me about his impressions in Armenia. We exchanged
views. We also talked about the latest developments at the US House
of Representatives and an Armenian resolution there. We discussed
the situation in the Caucasus and Balkans," he said.

Balkans, Iran

"I had talks with the foreign minister of Slovenia, someone with whom
Bosnia-Herzegovina has close relations for their European Union (EU)
process. In addition, I had talks with the foreign minister of Sweden,
Carl Bildt, and US President Barack Obama’s National Security Council
adviser, James B. Jones, on bilateral relations and international
topics," Davutoglu said.

"We discussed, with Mr Jones, joint security topics, Iran’s nuclear
program and the Middle East problem," Davutoglu said.

Davutoglu said that he had had the chance to continue in Munich the
talks begun with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in the
Turkish capital, Ankara. They had a comprehensive discussion on Iran’s
nuclear program, bilateral relations and the Middle East.

"I had talks with the foreign minister of Serbia. We will hold a
trilateral meeting with the Serbian foreign minister and the foreign
minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Ankara on Tuesday. This meeting will
be the fifth between the three sides and we plan to hold a trilateral
meeting every month. We will evaluate the steps to be taken in order
to facilitate stability in the Balkans," Davutoglu said.

Minister Davutoglu had separate meetings with the chairman of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, NATO Secretary
General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the European Union rotating
president, Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Miguel
Angel Moratinos Cuyaube.

Foreign Minister Davutoglu was scheduled to make a speech on "Security
and Stability in the Middle East" in a panel discussion in Munich on
Sunday and to meet the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan,
Richard Holbrooke.

"We will talk about Turkey’s potential contributions to Afghanistan
with Mr Holbrooke. I will later hold a tete-a-tete meeting with the
French minister of foreign affairs and European affairs, Bernard
Kouchner," Davutoglu said.