DAVUTOGLU REAFFIRMS ANKARA’S WILL TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS
Today’s Zaman
Feb 11 2010
Turkey
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has firmly rejected arguments
suggesting that there has been deterioration in Turkey’s political
will to normalize relations with its estranged neighbor Armenia.
Davutoglu’s remarks came on Wednesday at a press conference ahead of
his departure to Kazakhstan for a three-day official visit when he
was reminded of certain claims made in the wake of Ankara’s uneasiness
over an Armenian court ruling which the Turkish capital says threatens
protocols signed to normalize relations with Yerevan.
"Our strong political will regarding all types of efforts in the
direction of the constitution of permanent peace and stability in
the Caucasus exists," Davutoglu said, adding that Turkey’s efforts
are based on its strong resolve to contribute to the maintenance
of peace and stability, which will continue in the coming period
with the country making bold moves. After months of Swiss mediation
and US encouragement, Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in
October 2009 to establish diplomatic ties and reopen their shared
border. However, the process hit rocky ground after an Armenian court
upheld the legality of the protocols but underlined that they could
not contradict Yerevan’s official position that the alleged Armenian
genocide must be internationally recognized.
Turkey accused Yerevan of trying to rewrite and place conditions on
the deals. Armenia’s president and foreign minister have warned that
the rapprochement is under threat of collapse.
Ankara attaches importance to the advancement of this strong political
will within the framework of the initial perspective which put forth
such will, Davutoglu said, echoing Ankara’s view that the Armenian
court’s decision contains preconditions and restrictive provisions
that go against the letter and spirit of the protocols.
Calling on every related party to play its part to achieve peace and
stability, Davutoglu noted that the international community’s support
on this issue has been continuing. Davutoglu’s visit to the Kazakh
capital of Astana is taking place at the invitation of his Kazakh
counterpart, Kanat Saudabayev.
Recalling that Kazakhstan’s one-year chairmanship of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) formally began last
month and that Turkey will take over the term presidency of the
Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia
(CICA) in June from Kazakhstan, which has held the presidency since
it was established in 1993, Davutoglu said the two countries would
be assuming the presidencies of two of the most important security
organizations in Europe and Asia for around one year.
Noting that this would be his first visit to Kazakhstan in his
capacity as foreign minister, a position he assumed in May of last
year, Davutoglu said he planned to visit other Central Asian countries
as well.
"Central Asia is a region which constitutes one of the most strategic
backbones of our foreign policy. It is a region to which we are
attached by cultural ties, beyond being in the same neighborhood,
although we are not immediate neighbors. We are determined to develop
these relationships by deepening them further in the coming months."
Ankara believes that Kazakhstan’s one-year chairmanship of the OSCE
will offer an opportunity to create synergy between the 56-nation
transatlantic security body and the CICA due to close coordination
between Turkey and Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the first former Soviet
state to chair the OSCE, after making promises to carry out democratic
reforms.