FM SAYS TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN EYE NEW ERA FOR PEACE
WorldBulletin.Net
April 20 2010
Turkey
Davutoglu said that Turkey and Azerbaijan were willing to begin a new
era in which both countries would normalize relations in the region,
secure mutual trust and open all borders.
Tuesday, 20 April 2010 08:50 Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
said Monday that Turkey and Azerbaijan had common goals and that they
were willing to begin a new era in which both countries would normalize
relations in the region, secure mutual trust and open all borders.
Following his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku,
Davutoglu met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Memmedyarov and
then the two ministers appeared at a joint news conference.
Davutoglu said U.S. and Russian co-chairs of the Minsk Group was due in
Azerbaijan on Tuesday, which he said was a very important development,
adding, "we hope efforts speed up with Minsk Group’s initiatives and
end up with its final goal."
The Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to encourage a peaceful, negotiated
resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Upper
Karabakh. The Minsk Group is headed by a co-chairmanship consisting
of France, Russia and the United States.
Turkey monitors Minsk Group’s activities very closely, Davutoglu said.
He said Turkish officials had meetings with French President Nicolas
Sarkozy, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev and gave their messages clearly.
"There is a great opportunity over Madrid Principles and everybody
should make use of it. Everybody must exert efforts for a solution
around these principles instead of killing the clock," he said.
Following the news conference Davutoglu departed from Azerbaijan
for Iran.