HURRIYET: ERDOGAN TO RAISE WITHDRAWAL OF THE ARMENIAN FORCES FROM 2 OF THE 7 TERRITORIES IN BAKU

Panorama.am
17/05/2010

Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan is due to leave Tehran for
Azerbaijan. The highlights of the visit are the gas price deal with
Baku and Ankara’s new proposal over the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement
process, Hurriyet writes. According to the source, Erdogan will
suggest Baku to make the Armenian military forces withdraw from
two of the 7 territories adjacent to Karabakh and open the Armenian
-Azerbaijani border.

"Baku is persistent over the withdrawal of the Armenian forces from 5
territories in the upcoming future, though, the Armenian side refuses
to and this has brought the talks to a deadlock," the paper says,
adding that even if Baku states it will not take a step back from 5+2
format, the talks on the proposal over handing the two territories
continue behind the close doors.

According to the Turkish paper, the two regions are Kelbajar and
Fizouli. Ankara closed the border with Armenia in 1993 when the
Armenians liberated Kelbajar. That’s why the withdrawal from Kelbajar
is so important for Ankara. It is signified in terms of Armenia-Turkey
normalization.

Hurriyet highlights that the cut of Azerbaijan’s expectations by
withdrawal of the forces from two territories has another point of
significance: Ankara is trying to ensure any signals form Armenia over
withdrawal. This will form beneficial grounds for the ratification
of the protocols in the Turkish parliament and resuming the process
Armenia suspended. Citing government’s sources, the paper says that
providing Armenia does not compromise over the new proposal, Ankara
will freeze the normalization process on long-term basis.

The Nagorno-Karabakh (armed) conflict broke out back in 1991, when,
subsequent to the demand for self-determination of the Nagorno-Karabakh
people, Azerbaijani authorities attempted to resolve the issue
through ethnic cleansings, carried out by Soviet security forces
(KGB special units) under the pretext of the implementation of the
passport regime and by launching of large-scale military operations,
which left thousands dead and caused considerable material damage. A
cease-fire agreement was established in 1994. Negotiations on the
settlement of the conflict are being conducted under the mediation
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen (Russia, USA, France) and on the
basis of their Madrid proposals, presented in November, 2007.

Azerbaijan has not yet implemented the 4 resolutions of the UN
Security Council adopted in 1993, by continuing to provoke arms race
in the region and openly violating on of the basic principles of the
international law non-use of force or threat of force.