OFFICIAL: TURKEY BENEFITS FROM AZERBAIJAN’S LITTLE BROTHER STATUS
Armen Hareyan
HULIQ.com, SC
May 20 2010
Last night the deputy foreign minister of Armenia Mr. Shavarsh
Kocharyan speaking to Hailur Evening News said sometimes the impression
is such that Turkey is not interested in the resolution of the Nagorno
Karabakh Problem and may well like keeping Azerbaijan in the status of
"little brother."
Turkey was repeatedly told by the mediators and Armenia that it has
nothing to do in mediating or solving the Nagorno Karabakh problem.
"In fact, Turkey could have a case if it prompted Azerbaijan to
take a more realistic and constructive position, but not by making
announcements by which it prompted Azerbaijan to take a tougher and
non-constructive position. By the way, some times the impression that
is left is such that the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
is not in Turkey’s interest. Because when the issue is solved, the
dependence is essentially is diminished. Yet, the relations between the
two brother states (Turkey and Azerbaijan) are not really brotherly,
as we have seen last year about this time of the year," Kocharyan said.
Last year when Turkey announced its intention to go ahead with signing
the two protocols to improve relations with neighboring Armenia,
Azerbaijan showed and outright displeasure and openly critiqued Turkey
for its position. Azerbaijan went as far as to remove Turkish flag
from the "Martyrs’ Plaza" in the capital Baku, where Turkish soldiers
fell by defending Azerbaijan.
By the way, recently Azerbaijan is expressing its displeasure toward
many countries and players in the region. Recent targets have become
the United States, Russia and the Mynsk group, which mediates the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution between Armenia and Azerbaijan..
This indeed shows one thing, if the country is always upset from
everyone, it shows that the foreign policy that its leaders are
directing is just a propaganda and does not register any progress.
Kocharyan further elaborated saying this is a way of avoiding from
responsibility and making other factors an escape goat, blaming
Azerbaijan for its failed foreign policy.
In the meanwhile the much expected natural gas deal between Azerbaijan
and Turkey, which took the Turkish Prime Minister to Baku, did not
realize. They postponed it for another 20 days.
Looking at Turkish position on the Nagorno Karabakh issue one concludes
that Turkey unilaterally sites with Azerbaijan because of its cultural
and religious proximity with it. While in Baku Turkey and Azerbaijan
again stated "one nation in two states" principle. However, how
can one build a regional peace and prosperity by defending a party
of a dispute just based on cultural proximity and not based on the
principles of right and wrong.
In fact, in many instances Turkish newspapers Hurriyet and Zaman
as well as other Turkish language media have taken a position of
what is right and what is wrong in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
and have concluded that Azerbaijan should respect people’s
right to self determination when it also speaks about territorial
integrity. Turkey would do much better to follow the just leadership
that some of its leading newspapers have created and try to look at
the Armenia-Azerbaijan issue based on what is right and what is wrong,
what is realistic and what is non-constructive, if it wants the problem
to be solved. Otherwise, indeed the impression is that the longer the
problem is prolonged the longer Azerbaijan will remain in the status
of Turkey’s "little brother."