AZERBAIJAN WILL NOT BE EXCLUDED FROM ARMENIAN-TURKISH SETTLEMENT PROCESS

Trend
April 6 2010
Azerbaijan

Ankara believes Azerbaijan is an integral part of a solution to the
problem in the Caucasus and says its exclusion from the process is
out of the question, the Turkish "Hurriyet Daily News" newspaper
reported with reference to the official sources.

With speculation abounding about the Obama administration’s alleged
quest to neutralize the Azerbaijan factor in the Turkish-Armenian
normalization process, Ankara said it is out of the question for
Turkey to be involved in any formulation that excludes Baku.

"It is unquestionable for Turkey to leave Azerbaijan out of the cycle
in any manner," Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin told the
Hurriyet Daily News on Monday.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last week he would
participate in an international nuclear security summit in Washington
Apr.12-13, which took him a while to decide after a United States
committee passed a resolution labeling the 1915 killings of Armenians
as genocide, the paper reported.

But the margins of the summit will see diplomatic traffic between
Turkey and Armenia to revive the stalled normalization process.

Erdogan is expected to meet with Armenian President Serzh Sagsyan,
and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu does not rule out a meeting with
members of the Armenian diaspora. Although diplomats say the program
is not yet clear, Erdogan may meet with U.S. President Barack Obama
for brief talks on the Ankara-Yerevan reconciliation before April
24, a day of commemoration for the 1915 events when U.S. presidents
deliver an annual message.

Azerbaijan’s absence at the summit, however, is strengthening the
argument of Washington’s so-called plans to eliminate Azerbaijani
pressure on Turkey, so that Ankara could take more progressive steps to
normalize ties with Yerevan. Turkish diplomatic sources told the Daily
News it is up to the host country, namely the United States in this
case, to decide which country to invite to the summit. The diplomats
added Azerbaijan’s non-participation should not be interpreted as
Baku’s exclusion.

Heads of state and government from more than 40 countries are expected
to attend the summit, the paper wrote.

"We have not announced the full list of participants to the
international summit yet," U.S. Embassy spokesperson Deborah
Guido-O’Grady told the Daily News when asked if Baku was invited.

She denied the reports over the alleged U.S. plan to exclude Baku
from the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement as "incorrect."

"Azerbaijan and the United States work closely on a wide range of
issues, including the Minsk process, as well as with other countries
in the region including Turkey and Armenia," stated the spokesperson.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress