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Category: Azerbaijan

  • World Azerbaijanis Congress against opening of Turkey-Armenia borders

    World Azerbaijanis Congress against opening of Turkey-Armenia borders

    Baku. Ramil Mammadli–APA. The World Azerbaijanis Congress (WAC), co-chaired by Pasha Galbinur and Mahammadrza Kheshti, issued a statement against the talks over the opening of Turkey-Armenia borders and establishing of diplomatic and economic relations, WAC press service told APA. The Congress expressed concern of all Azerbaijanis over the world. “Canakkale, where Azerbaijanis shed their blood, and Azerbaijani lands where our Turkish brothers shed their blood, both are Motherland. It is not suitable politically or publicly to open borders in one side of the Motherland when other side is at war”.

    “Azerbaijani public, governmental and Diaspora organizations provide useful activity against the Armenia’s occupant policy against Azerbaijan and its territorial and “genocide” claims against Turkey. Today Armenia faces with difficult economic and political crisis. It has no other international access except Iran. Undoubtedly only Armenia will benefit from the opening of borders. This action will negatively effect on the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, will justify the occupant policy of Armenia and encourage it for new occupation. Armenia will continue its territorial and “genocide” claims against Turkey even after the opening of the borders”.

    WAC said it believed Turkey would avoid the decision, which could damage the Turkic world’s interests, and would take the interests of Turkic peoples into consideration.

  • Azerbaijani and Turkish Americans against reopening of borders

    Azerbaijani and Turkish Americans against reopening of borders

    Baku. Rashad Suleymanov–APA. Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Union of Azerbaijani-Turkish Businessmen (ATIB) and Azerbaijani-Turkish American Foundation (ATAF) Ahmet Erentok addressed the US officials protesting against reopening of Turkey-Armenia borders, ATIB press service told APA.

    He addressed President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator John Kerry and said that the opening of Turkey-Armenia borders outside of Azerbaijan’s position wouldn’t bring expected results. “In this case, relations of Azerbaijan with Turkey and the United States will be strained. The opening of borders will lead to the instability and complication of situation in the region”.

    Erentok asked the US officials to be more sensitive in approaching of this issue.

    Vice Chairman of ATIB Borad of Governors Cemal Yangin informed the World Turkish Business Forum in Istanbul on Friday about the ATIB’s position on the opening of Turkey-Armenia borders and spread the text of ATIB statement against the border opening among the forum participants.

  • Turkish-Armenian Talks ‘May Get Nowhere”

    Turkish-Armenian Talks ‘May Get Nowhere”

     

    By Emil Danielyan and Karine Kalantarian

    The almost year-long negotiations between Armenia and Turkey, which have brought the two neighbors close to normalizing their strained relations, could end in failure because of renewed Turkish preconditions, President Serzh Sarkisian said on Friday.

    “Is it possible that we were mistaken in our calculations and that the Turks will now adopt a different position and try to set preconditions?” he said. “Of course it is possible. One can not exclude such a thing by 100 percent.

    “But I think even in that case we would emerge from this process stronger. With this process, we have once again emphasized — and the international community has seen that — that we are really ready to establish relations [with Turkey] without preconditions.”

    The remarks came amid growing indications that Ankara is again linking the normalization of its relations with Yerevan with a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. The Turkish government appeared ready to drop that linkage when it embarked on an unprecedented dialogue with the Sarkisian administration last year.

    However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said twice over the past week that his country can not establish diplomatic relations and reopen its border with Armenia as long as the Karabakh conflict remains unresolved. President Abdullah Gul likewise underscored the importance of Karabakh peace when he commented on Turkish-Armenian ties in an interview with “The Financial Times” newspaper published on Wednesday.

    “The major problem in the Caucasus is the Karabakh question between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said Gul. “We wish that this problem is resolved so that a new climate emerges in the Caucasus.”

    The statements by the Turkish leaders followed an uproar in Azerbaijan over reports that Ankara and Yerevan are poised to sign this month an agreement envisaging an end to the 16-year Turkish blockade of Armenia. Azerbaijani leaders publicly warned their Turkish counterparts against lifting the embargo before a Karabakh settlement.

    Like his foreign minister, Eduard Nalbandian, Sarkisian insisted that the Karabakh dispute has not been on the agenda of the Turkish-Armenian talks and that Armenia continues to stand for only an unconditional deal with its historic foe. Speaking at a news conference, he said he still hopes that the Turkish-Armenian border will be reopened by the time he attends a football match in Turkey between the two countries in October. “But my optimism may not prove right,” the Armenian leader cautioned, adding that the Turks could “walk away from our agreements.”

    The Armenian and Turkish soccer teams already played against each in Yerevan last September. Gul paid a historic visit to Armenia to watch the game with Sarkisian. The so-called “football diplomacy” raised high hopes for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation.

    “In my opinion, the ball is now in Turkey’s court,” said Sarkisian. “And speaking of football diplomacy, we have to say that the ball can not remain in one court indefinitely. Every football game has a time limit.”

    Turkish leaders said until recently that possible U.S. recognition of the 1915-1918 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide is the main obstacle to the success of the Turkish-Armenian negotiations. U.S. President Barack Obama avoided publicly using the word genocide during his visit to Turkey earlier this week, arguing that those talks “could bear fruit very soon.” Obama is under strong pressure from Armenian advocacy groups in the United States to honor his campaign pledge to officially recognize the genocide.

    Sarkisian said that Armenian-American lobbying efforts are not directed from Yerevan. “It’s not we who are prodding the United States to recognize the genocide,” he said.

    “Naturally, we constantly consult and discuss issues with leaders of [Armenian-American] structures, but such a phenomenon can not exist,” added Sarkisian. “Those people are very good citizens of the United States … and it would not be right to issue instructions to them.”

  • Azerbaijan Continues To Vent Anger With Turkey

    Azerbaijan Continues To Vent Anger With Turkey

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    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (file photo)

    April 10, 2009

    Speakers at the April 8 session of the Azerbaijani parliament were uniformly critical of the anticipated rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia.

    Several deputies advocated convening an emergency parliament session on April 14 to debate the repercussions for Azerbaijan of the anticipated opening of the Turkish-Armenian border.

    Evda Abramov, who heads the parliament faction of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party, wholeheartedly endorsed that proposal. Abramov conceded that “Turkey is a separate independent state that has the right to its own foreign policy, but they have always assured us that until a solution is found to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict the frontier with Armenia will never be opened and diplomatic ties with that country will not be resumed.”

    Also on April 8, Mubariz Ahmedoglu of the Center for Political Innovations and Technologies told a press conference in Baku that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has betrayed the interests of the Azerbaijani and Turkish peoples by embarking on the process of normalizing relations with Turkey.

    Ahmedoglu argued that “all these years, Azerbaijan has structured its foreign policy in accordance with Turkey’s interests. Baku refrained from developing relations with Moscow to the fullest extent and did not pursue deep cooperation with Washington precisely because strategic cooperation with Ankara was a kind of beacon, a priority for us.”

    “We always defended Ankara’s interests, trying to ensure that it was via Turkish territory that energy resources reached the West. And Turkey has repaid us for this with black ingratitude,” he continued.

    On April 9, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allakh-Shukur Pashazade, Azerbaijan’s most senior Muslim cleric, addressed an open letter to Ali Bardakoglu, the head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate.

    “The closing by Turkey 16 years ago of its border with Armenia as a sign of protest against the unsubstantiated accusations of the so-called ‘Armenian genocide’ and the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia bestowed on Azerbaijanis a feeling of pride that is equaled by their bitterness and disappointment at the possibility that the border will be opened,” Pasha-zade wrote.

    He appealed to Turkey as a supporter of Islam, justice and truth not to open its border with “the aggressor Armenia that has occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory.” 

    Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Baku radio station Media FM, Tural Aliyev, announced that in the event that the Turkish-Armenian border is indeed opened, his station will cease broadcasting songs by Turkish singers. He called on all other radio stations in Azerbaijan to declare a similar boycott. 

    Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan on April 8 hinted at a toughening of the Turkish position vis-à-vis Armenia, telling journalists that a solution to the Karabakh conflict must precede a solution to the “problems between Turkey and Armenia.” He added that he hopes the UN Security Council will formally designate Armenia as the occupier of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    The Turkish newspaper “Today’s Zaman” reported on April 9 that Turkish President Abdullah Gul will visit Baku soon to discuss with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijan’s concern at the anticipated Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. Citing an unnamed Turkish government official, the paper said that the Turkish-Armenian border will probably remain closed at least until October. “Ankara will use the time until November to ease Azerbaijan’s concerns,” it said.

    In Armenia, meanwhile, there are growing calls for official Yerevan to halt negotiations with Ankara if they do not lead to an agreement soon. “If Turkey suddenly caves in to Azerbaijan’s threats and these negotiations yield no results soon, then I think the Armenian side will not carry on with them,” Giro Manoyan, a senior member of the influential Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun), told reporters on April 8.

    Former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian took a similar view in an interview with RFE/RL earlier this week. “I believe the ball is in the Turkish court today,” Oskanian said. “Turkey should overcome its dilemma and open the border. Or else Armenia should call a halt to this process.”

    — Liz Fuller and Emil Danielyan

    https://www.rferl.org/a/Azerbaijan_Continues_To_Vent_Anger_With_Turkey/1606118.html

  • Turkish government’s policies in Caucasus are bankrupt

    Turkish government’s policies in Caucasus are bankrupt

     

     
     

    [ 07 Apr 2009 12:24 ]
    Washington. Zaur Hasanov – APA. Interview of the professor of the Middle East Center of Utah University Hakan Yavuz to APA’s US bureau

    -The relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are tense as never before since Azerbaijan gained its independence. President Aliyev refused to visit Turkey, even after the phone conversation with Hillary Clinton. Does it mean that we are witnessing the new geopolitical shift in the region?

    -For Turkey to become an important country in the Caucasus, Turkey must work together with Azerbaijan. Armenia has only 2.5 million people, Azerbaijan has 8 million people, plus incredible energy resources and economy. It is more important the ethnicity the Turks and Azerbaijanis. They speak in the same language, they belong to the same ethnic roots, there is no way under any condition that Turkey would turn against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a closest country to Turkey in terms of support, culture. These are the well known facts. But Turkey is under pressure by the USA now. Even Obama during his speech in the Parliament, even during his press conference with Abdullah Gul, he made very clear that he would like to see the border to be opened between Turkey and Armenia. Not only Turkey is under pressure of the U.S., but Turkey is under pressure of the European countries as well. They all want this border be opened. I think that Turkey didn’t do a good job and Azerbaijan also didn’t do a good job in terms of explaining the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to the international community that this war was created by Armenia and large numbers of Azerbaijanis are refuges, thousands of them were killed by Armenians. In other words, we didn’t do a good job both Azeris and Turks to explain the suffering of people in Karabakh issue. That’s why somewhat the world’s public opinion and specially the European leaders and the American leadership are not fully aware or informed about this conflict.

    – How will the reopening of borders influence the image of Turkey in Azerbaijan and other Turkish-speaking countries?

    -Turkey did so bad and so wrong that tomorrow no country of the region, including Turkish republics, will accept Turkey seriously. Turkey does all this things because of European and American pressure. It is mean that Turkey is not independent country. It is nothing but puppet of either the USA or EU. In other words, if Turkey will pursue the current foreign policy that would create the problems in the Central Asia and the Caucasus. Turkey is led by wrong people, and the recent elections proved it. You also should take into account that there is a very powerful Armenia lobby inside of Turkey and specially within AKP. But I really think that the public opinion in Turkey very much against this. This will ruin the Turkey image. They already ruined the image of Turkey in the Turkish world.

    – What is your judgment of Caucasus Peace and Cooperation Initiative?

    -It was a rash decision. It wasn’t very well thought. I am very critical of the Turkish foreign policy during the Georgian crisis and I am very critical of current Turkish foreign policy right now that they don’t consult and work together with Azerbaijan. You also need to know that not only me, but most of the opposition parties in Turkey also disagree with the policy of Justice and Development Party of Racab Tayyib Ardogan. Their policies in Caucasus are bankrupt. It doesn’t work. The relations with Georgia are not good because Turkey didn’t support Georgia properly and Turkey had supported Russia, and the same with their policy toward Azerbaijan now. Turkey is shooting itself at the foot. That’s why the countries of Caucasus don’t trust Turkey as they used to. Turkey have lost Georgia, Turkey is losing Azerbaijan. Having said that, I believe that the border will not be reopened. I think that empty talks before the 24 April.

    – What is the attitude of the Turkish society and politicians towards the border reopening issue?

    – I have heard that there is a major reaction from the military. That’s the military is not very happy with the policy of the government, specially on the border reopening issue and other issues as well. Again, in my understanding the border will not be open. On the border issue the military very and very unhappy. Turkey is getting screwed. Turkey showed that it can’t be a reliable country. I am a Turk but unfortunately they are following such stupid path that we have lost the closest state Azerbaijan. What we have in return? What Armenia has to offer to Turkey? 2.5 million hungry people in Armenia where no money and no job. It is not in the national interest of Turkey to reopen the border.

  • Azerbaijan’s youth appeal to Turkey

    Azerbaijan’s youth appeal to Turkey

    Baku. Elnur Mammadli – APA. Youth organizations of Azerbaijan have today held a joint meeting in connection with the discussions on the reopening of Turkey-Armenia borders, APA reports. The meeting brought together over hundred organizations. Chairman of the World Young Turkish Writers Union Akbar Goshali expressed the concern of the public over the discussions on the reopening of Turkey-Armenia borders.

    Chairman of “Ireli” Public Union Jeyhun Osmanli said Turkey was always with Azerbaijan and AKP authorities did not pursue unambiguous policy. He said the Turkish government did not express concrete position on the reopening of borders.
    “They only say that they will not take a step not agreed by Azerbaijan. They do not say “Turkey-Armenia borders will not open unless Karabakh is liberated”.
    Osmanli said some interested forces attempted to take advantage of the present situation between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
    “But relations of these people are so strong that no authorities can damage them,” he said.

    Message was issued to Turkish youth organizations and public. It was noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey always took joint steps and reopening of the borders contradicted the interests of Turkey and Azerbaijan. Turkish youth organizations were called on not to agree to the reopening of the borders. Heads of over 120 organizations signed the message.