BAKU, YEREVAN DIVIDED OVER TURKISH ROLE IN KARABAKH
Today’s Zaman
April 16 2010
Turkey
Talks between Turkish and Armenian leaders in Washington this week
have sparked a debate in Armenia and Azerbaijan about Turkey’s role
in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
While Armenia categorically dismisses any Turkish role in the dispute
— saying its efforts to normalize relations with Ankara are not
linked to this territorial rift — Azerbaijani experts and politicians
insist that peace is not attainable in the Caucasus without a solution
in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Turkey has increased its efforts to normalize relations with its
estranged neighbor Armenia in the run-up to a speech traditionally
made by the US president on April 24, the day the world commemorates
the victims of atrocities against Armenians in 1915. Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan
met in Washington, D.C., on Monday on the sidelines of the nuclear
security summit to discuss the status of the reconciliation process
between the two countries. While the contents of the talks remained
undisclosed, Azerbaijan and Armenia made their positions clear in a
series of public statements.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian said there was no sense in discussing the Nagorno-Karabakh
issue with Turkey, adding that Turkey cannot act as a mediator in
the Karabakh dispute. "Armenia will never agree to concessions on the
Karabakh issue to normalize ties with Turkey," Nalbandian noted. He
also said linking the settlement of the Karabakh conflict to the
Armenian-Turkish rapprochement would harm both processes. He made
similar statements in Armenia on Wednesday, as well.
Armenia has resisted Turkey’s attempt to link the normalization of
Turkish-Armenian relations to the settlement Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
Azerbaijan, in contrast, claims the opening of the borders would
be a big boon to Armenia, which occupies 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s
territory.
Speaking to members of Azerbaijan’s cabinet on Wednesday, Azerbaijani
President Ä°lham Aliyev questioned the wisdom of solving other issues
in the region while maintaining the status quo on the Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute, the local ANS TV station reported.
Erdogan sent a special envoy, Feridun Sinirlioglu, to both Yerevan
and Baku last week. In Baku, he conveyed the view of the Turkish
administration thatAzerbaijan should not be concerned about the
Turkish-Armenian talks. The primary aim of the Baku visit was
apparently to reassure the Azerbaijani administration that Turkey
does not intend to leave it hanging in regional politics.
In his statements to the cabinet, Aliyev said the opening of the border
between Turkey and Armenia is clearly against Azerbaijan’s national
interests. "How can the Azerbaijani public accept this fact if our
national interests are being put aside, the occupation of our country
is ignored and everything possible is being done to rescue a country
[Armenia] from economic hardship?" Aliyev asked.
In addition, Azerbaijani presidential public policy administration
head Ali Hasanov accused the US of often taking a unilateral position
supporting Armenia, in remarks to reporters on Thursday. "We urge the
US to take a neutral position," Hasanov said. Hasanov also lauded
Turkey’s position and effort in bringing the Karabakh issue to the
forefront. "We are fully satisfied with Turkey’s stance on the Karabakh
issue," Hasanov noted.
The Azerbaijani president also stressed that the issue of opening
the borders between Turkey and Armenia is a bilateral affair and
that third parties should not be involved in the situation. "Neither
we nor anyone else should interfere in this. These are relations
between two countries. Of course, while these countries attempt to
solve their problems, they will also consider the ongoing processes,
history and historical relations in the region. What kind of things
do those sides, which know nothing about the processes in the region,
want to achieve by sabotage and pressure? We cannot accept this. This
is clearly against our national policy," Aliyev said.