ANKARA: President meets Azerbaijani defense min amid rising tension

Hürriyet , Turkey
April 26 2009

Turkish pres meets Azerbaijani defense min amid rising tension

ISTANBUL – Turkish President Abdullah Gul, met with Azerbaijani
defense minister on Saturday as the ties between two countries
strained because of Turkey’s and Armenia’s recent moves aiming to
normalize relations.

Gul had a meeting with Safar Abiyev at the Presidential Palace in the
Turkish capital of Ankara, however no official announcement was issued
following the meeting.

Azerbaijan said earlier that Turkey and Armenia risk raising tensions
in the region if they go ahead with their plans to normalize relations
before the dispute over the Armenian occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region
inside Azerbaijan is solved.

Azerbaijan urged its close ally Turkey to link reconciliation efforts
with Armenia to the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the disputed
region.

Turkey and Armenia announced late Wednesday that they had agreed on a
framework for normalizing relations, the first of its kind since
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity
with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The two neighboring countries were not having diplomatic relations
since then.

Turkey however says the accord would help Azerbaijan to lead a
solution regarding the region occupied by Armenians.