TURKISH AMBASSADOR HOPES RUSSIA WILL INTENSIFY KARABAKH SETTLEMENT EFFORTS
Interfax
May 10 2010
Russia
Russia could play a more active role in the Karabakh settlement and
the establishment of Turkish-Armenian relations, Turkish ambassador
to Russia Halil Akinci believes.
"We believe that Russia as a country of the region is capable of
contributing to the solution of the problem of Karabakh because out of
the three cochairman of the [OSCE] Minsk group only Russia a regional
country," he said in an interview with Interfax ahead of the visit
of President Dmitry Medvedev to Turkey on May 11-12.
Akinci expressed the conviction that Russia’s involvement could
be more active. In his opinion, the issue will be discussed during
Medvedev’s coming visit to Ankara.
"The sides to the conflict must be encouraged. They have to be pushed
to bring their positions closer. And Russia can cope with this task
as no other country," he said.
The ambassador also believes that Russia could promote the development
of relations between Turkey and Armenia. "Russia can do much to
facilitate the process. Turkey’s terms and well as the limits of its
actions are known to everyone," Akinci said.
"The ratification of the protocol on normalizing relations is
impossible separately from the question of Nagorno Karabakh," he said.
"We have done everything we could. Armenia cannot endlessly keep
Azerbaijani territories occupied. One day it will have to free them,"
he said.