TURKISH DIPLOMAT VISITS YEREVAN, BAKU AHEAD OF WASHINGTON TALKS
Hurriyet
April 8 2010
Turkey
As Turkish and Armenian leaders prepare to meet with U.S. President
Barack Obama in Washington, Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary
Feridun Sinirlioglu is making the rounds in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent Sinirlioglu as a special
envoy to Baku on Friday to convey a letter to Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev. The Turkish diplomat previously held high-level talks
in Yerevan on Wednesday.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed that Turkey would
continue its efforts to secure "fair memory" in bilateral relations
as well as peace and stability for the Southern Caucasus in the light
of the normalization protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia
in October.
"We need to overcome the existing difficulties together in accordance
with this vision," Davutoglu said Friday during a press conference
with Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas.
Sinirlioglu was received by Armenian President Serge Sarkisian and
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian this week after Sarkisian and
Davutoglu agreed to review the process during an earlier meeting
in Kiev.
Davutoglu described the talks as "positive and constructive" and
announced the next stop for the Turkish diplomat would be Baku. He
also rebuffed the idea of any outside influence or involvement, saying,
"It [the normalizing process] should continue in its nature."
"We sincerely believe our relations with Armenia will be normalized
in accordance with the protocols’ letter and spirit," the Turkish
foreign minister said.
"We gave a clear message of our loyalty to the normalization process
during the talks in Armenia," said a diplomatic source, speaking on
condition of anonymity. "Now, we need to share our impression with
the Azerbaijani side."
Ramiz Mehdiyev, the head of the Azerbaijani President’s Executive
Office, held talks last week in Ankara, just days before Erdogan,
Sarkisian and Obama are set to meet in Washington on the sidelines
of a nuclear-security summit.
Obama invited the Turkish and Armenian leaders to the summit and has
been planning to host a pull-aside meeting to speed up normalization
talks between the two neighbors.
"It is quite natural to talk with the Azerbaijani side, too. One more
time, we will affirm that Turkey is sharing Azerbaijani concerns over
the Karabakh conflict," the diplomatic source added. "As you know,
there are speculative reports saying Obama may convince Erdogan to
step back during the upcoming meeting with Sarkisian in Washington."
Sinirlioglu will be received by Azerbaijani President Aliyev and
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on Friday.