AZERI DIPLOMAT CLAIMS REPAIR WORKS LAUNCHED AT TURKEY-ARMENIA BORDER
Hurriyet
April 9 2009
Turkey
ISTANBUL – Repair works have been launched at Alican checkpoint at the
Turkish-Armenian border which was closed since 1993, an Azerbaijani
diplomat said on Wednesday.
"Repair works are underway in the border crossing point in the
territory of Armenia. The roads leading to Alican are being covered
with asphalt," Azerbaijan’s consul general to the eastern Turkish
province of Kars, Hasan Zeynalov, told Azeri Press Agency, or APA.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, and their border
has been closed in 1993 over Armenia’s invasion of territory that
accounts for 20 percent of Azerbaijan – a frozen conflict legacy of
the Soviet Union known as Nagorno-Karabakh.
Zeynalov also told Azeri Press Agency that residents in the eastern
Turkish provinces of Kars and Igdir, where Alican checkpoint was
located, were very concerned over the possibility of re-opening of
the border.
"Kars and Igdir residents do not understand the reason of this
step. The are against the re-opening of border," he said.
Ankara and Yerevan have been engaged in a normalization process,
including the reopening of the border, since Turkish President Abdullah
Gul paid a landmark visit to Armenia last year to watch a World Cup
qualifying football match between the countries’ national teams.
Recent media reports suggest the two neighboring countries are close
to sign a memorandum that will lead to normalization of the relations.
Diplomatic sources told the Turkish broadcaster CNNTurk on Thursday
that although there are improvements on the talks, the border is
unlikely to be opened before April 24, commemoration day of the
1915 incidents.
Azeri officials have expressed concern over the prospect of the
border being reopened and some media reports suggested that Baku
might even go one step further in halting the sale of natural gas to
Turkey. Azerbaijan, which has strong cultural and historic ties with
Turkey, has said opening the border before the withdrawal of Armenian
troops from the country’s occupied territories would run counter to
its national interests.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday it will be
difficult to overcome problems with Armenia unless Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is resolved, in a bid to soothe Azerbaijan’s concerns.