PM ERDOGAN SEEKS AZERBAIJANI SUPPORT FOR CAUCASUS ALLIANCE
Today’s Zaman
Aug 21 2008
Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev yesterday to seek Baku’s support for a proposed
cooperation platform for the Caucasus that Ankara says will also
include Azerbaijan’s enemy Armenia.
Erdogan, speaking before his departure to Baku for a one-day visit,
reiterated once again that there will be talks with Armenia on the
proposed Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform. The proposal
is still in the preparatory stage but diplomats say it is envisaged
to start as a regional economic cooperation platform before tackling
issues of conflict. Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
are planned to be members of the initiative, which was proposed after a
regional crisis erupted following a Georgian military offensive in its
Russian-backed breakaway region of South Ossetia earlier this month.
But with Armenia and Azerbaijan in a state of enmity due to Armenia’s
continued occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, observers
say a regional alliance including both countries as members may be
difficult to implement.
With Armenian troops still in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani leadership
is unlikely to warm to any sort of cooperation with Yerevan.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Aliyev, Erdogan did not refer
to Armenia and said instead Turkey was willing to further cooperation
with Azerbaijan and Georgia for peace and stability in the Caucasus. He
also said the Nagorno-Karabakh problem should be resolved on the
basis of principles of international law and through peaceful ways.
Aliyev, for his part, thanked Turkey for its supportive stance.
In initial reaction to the Turkish plans to involve Armenia in the
Caucasus talks, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said
Yerevan welcomed the Turkish initiative. "Armenia was always in
favor of dialogue and talks, particularly on the issues concerning
cooperation and security in our region. The Turkish prime minister’s
statement on the intention to start talks with Armenia on this agenda
could be welcomed," he was quoted as saying in a statement to Today’s
Zaman yesterday.
It is not clear what shape the planned talks with Armenia will
take. Turkey severed its ties with Armenia in the early 1990s in
protest of the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. According to
official Turkish policy, normalization of ties depends on Armenian
withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, the termination of the Armenian
policy of supporting claims of an Armenian genocide at the hands of
the late Ottoman Empire and an official endorsement by Armenia of
the current borders between the two countries.
But signs have appeared recently that there could be a rapprochement
between the two countries. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan invited
his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to a World Cup qualifying
match between the national soccer teams of the two countries in
September. Gul says he is still considering the invitation. Turkish
diplomats have also confirmed recent reports that Turkish and Armenian
diplomats had secret talks to discuss normalization of ties.
Erdogan said details concerning talks with Armenia will be clearer
after Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, who accompanied him during the
visit to Baku, has talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
this week. He did not say where or exactly when the meeting will
take place.
Erdogan has already visited Georgia and Russia to promote the proposed
Caucasus platform and both countries have said they would welcome the
idea. The proposal is not designed to end hostilities between Georgia
and Russia, which invaded part of Georgian territory in response to
Georgia’s South Ossetia offensive. It is a rather long-term initiative
to provide a platform for regional countries to resolve crises through
a conflict resolution mechanism that diplomats are still working on. In
Baku, he said he won backing from Baku for the proposed alliance as
well. "We are pleased that Azerbaijan is taking a positive approach
to our proposal," he said at the joint press conference with Aliyev.
US ‘surprised’ over Caucasus proposal
Despite assurances of support from the regional countries, Erdogan’s
proposal for a Caucasus cooperation platform appears to have received
a lukewarm response from Washington. "I must say I was surprised,"
Matt Bryza, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for European
affairs, was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency at a meeting
with journalists at the State Department.
The government’s plans to improve dialogue with Armenia as part of
the Caucasus proposal are not popular at home either. In remarks
published yesterday, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)
leader Deniz Baykal warned the government against alienating Azerbaijan
for better ties with Armenia.
"Armenia is neither giving up backing genocide claims nor withdrawing
from Azerbaijani territory. But Turkey still wants to take some
steps [for dialogue]," Baykal was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet
daily. "Azerbaijan is a brother nation that we should never offend. Our
commercial ties will further expand by cooperation in natural gas
and oil. Azerbaijan should never be offended while [Turkey] seeks
dialogue with Armenia," he said.