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Category: Azerbaijan

Gars and Igdir against opening of borders

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov – APA. “Repair and rehabilitation operations commenced in Alican border crossing point between Turkey and Armenia”, Azerbaijan’s Consul General to Gars Hasan Zeynalov told APA.

According to him, repair and rehabilitation operations are underway in the border crossing point in the territory of Armenia. The ways leading to Alican are being covered with asphalt. The diplomat stated that Gars and Igdir populations were very concerned over the opening of borders: “Gars and Igdir populations do not understand the reason of this step. They are against the opening of borders”.

April 8, 2009
Azerbaijani opposition against opening of borders

Baku. Elnur Mammadli – APA. Musavat Party made a statement on the talks held on reopening of Turkey-Armenia borders, the party’s press service told APA. The statement expresses concern over Turkey’s establishing relations with Armenia and notes that unilateral reopening of borders is inadmissible.
“Turkey’s paradoxical step towards Armenia, which does not give up territorial claims and genocide claims, will not have positive influence on its national interests, regional development or solution to Karabakh conflict. The developments may damage the relations of Turkey with its ally, friend, brother Azerbaijan,” he said.

The party notes that some forces may take advantage of the problem in Turkey-Azerbaijan relations. Musavat calls on Turkish government not to give grounds to the forces interested in damaging friendship between the two countries.
“Musavat Party, which is concerned over the state of Turkey-Azerbaijan relations, calls on politicians and media to be more delicate. We believe that Turkey-Azerbaijan relations will stand the test and strengthen,” the statement says.

Azerbaijan National Independence Party in its statement expresses concern over the discussions on the reopening of the borders. The party considers that the reopening of borders will not establish peace and welfare in thee region, but create serious obstacles in the settlement of the conflicts.
“Reopening of the borders will pave the way for Armenia’s militarism policy and new territorial claims,” the party says.
The party considers that being strategic ally and friend Turkey should take into account Azerbaijan’s interests.
“Reopening of the borders will damage the Turkic world and Azerbaijan-Turkey relations,” the statement says.

Azerbaijan National Democratic Party also made a statement. The party says if the borders will be reopened, Armenian-Russian military-aggressive base will strengthen. The party notes that realization of this probability will mean great political victory of Armenia, damage the national interest of Azerbaijan and Turkey, impede peace, Turkic world project.
“The party blames Turkish authorities for the project of anti-Turkish forces like the reopening of Turkey-Armenia borders. AKP government is executing anti-Turkish policy of Armenians, Persians, Russians and West,” he said.

April 8, 2009
Obama, Aliev Discuss Turkish-Armenian Ties

By Emil Danielyan

U.S. President Barack Obama has defended an unconditional normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey in a phone call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev, who is strongly opposed to such prospect.

The two leaders spoke late Tuesday after Obama ended a two-day visit to Turkey during which he urged Ankara and Yerevan to complete talks aimed at establishing diplomatic relations between the two neighbors and reopening their land border.

“The President had a good conversation with President Aliev,” the White House said in a statement. “He reaffirmed U.S commitment to a strong relationship with Azerbaijan and to supporting progress toward a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

“The President also underscored the importance of Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, which will lead to greater peace and security in the region,” added the statement.

Aliev’s office also said that Turkish-Armenian relations were high on the agenda of the “frank conversation.” “Barack Obama informed the Azerbaijani leader about steps taken by the United States concerning Turkey-Armenia relations,” it said in a statement. “President Ilham Aliev brought the Azerbaijani state’s position on the issue to the U.S. president’s attention.”

Azerbaijani leaders have expressed serious concern at reports that Armenia and Turkey are close to normalizing their historically strained relations after months of high-level negotiations. Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov warned last week that Ankara will act against the national interests of its closest Turkic ally if it reopens the Turkish-Armenian border before a resolution of the Karabakh conflict. The current Turkish government’s apparent readiness to stop linking improved ties with Armenia to Karabakh reportedly led Aliev to cancel his participation in a UN-sponsored international conference held in Istanbul on Monday and Tuesday.

Obama spoke with the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers on the sidelines of the conference and, according to a senior U.S. official quoted by Western news agencies, urged them to “complete an agreement with dispatch.” Addressing the Turkish parliament earlier on Monday, the U.S. president made a case for an open border between the two estranged nations.

According to “Hurriyet Daily News,” Obama and Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian held a bilateral meeting before being joined by Foreign Ministers Ali Babacan of Turkey and Micheline Calmy-Rey of Switzerland. The Armenian Foreign Ministry could not be reached for comment on this report on Wednesday. It is also unclear whether Nalbandian and Babacan held talks in a tête-à-tête format in Istanbul.

Nalbandian insisted on Sunday that the Karabakh dispute has not been on the agenda of the Turkish-Armenian negotiations and said statements to the contrary made by Turkish leaders could undermine the ongoing dialogue. He appeared to react to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Friday remark that “as long as the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is not resolved, it is not possible for us to reach a healthy solution concerning Armenia.”

April 8, 2009
Representatives of Azerbaijani and Turkish communities of California meet with member of US Congress

Representatives of Azerbaijani and Turkish communities of California meet with high-ranking member of US Congress Committee of foreign affairs.

According to the US-Azerbaijani Committee, on April 6 representatives of Azerbaijani and Turkish community of California met with representatives of the Republican party from Florida, that is a high-ranking member of the committee of foreign affairs of the US congress, as well as member of Turkish cocus in the Congress Ileana Ros-Letinen, according to the press release, received from these organizations Tuesday.

The message states that during the meeting Azerbaijani and Turkish activists told Ros-Letinen about radicalism of Armenian groupings, intimidating and putting pressure on representatives of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

In particular, she was informed about the recent attempt of the representatives of the Armenian youth federation (youth wing of Dashnaktsutun party in California) to break the speech of Azerbaijani general consul Elin Suleymanov at the Californian university by racist calls for deportation of Azerbaijanis and Turks to Middle Asia and belonging of Armenians to the Arian race.

Representatives of the Turkish community also spoke of defamation and discrimination aimed against Turks at Californian schools and universities where events of the early 20th century in Easter Anatolia are interpreted as “genicode” under pressure of the Armenian lobby.

The representatives of the two communities also voiced concern about the open anti-Turkish and anti-Azerbaijani propaganda in the legislative body of California. In particular, Ros-Letinen familiarized with the recent attempt of the member of Californian assembly Paul Krikoryan to avert recognition of the Khojaly tragedy by the Californian law-makers, as well as its putting for discussion of absurd legislative act AB961 that urges to impose sanctions on local companies conducting business with Turkey and all the countries “condemned for genocide”.

In turn, Mrs Ros-Letinen noted that racist attacks, intimidation and pressure on ethnic grounds are inadmissible for the US public and that she will take the presented facts into account.

She also noted that she comes from a family of Jewish migrants from Turkey and therefore she is proud of her Turkish origin. Ros-Letinen especially stressed the positive role of the initiative of “Laying bridges from the Caspian Sea to Mediterranean”, organized by the Azerbaijani-American Council, American-Jewish Committee and Turkish-American Association and was also informed about the forthcoming conference on “Jews in Turkish world”, planned to be held in New York in autumn of 2009.

/Day.Az/
http://www.today.az/news/politics/51377.html

April 7, 2009
Azerbaijani-Turkish Businessmen against opening of borders

Baku. Rashad Suleymanov–APA. On April 7, Union of Azerbaijani-Turkish Businessmen issued statement on a protest against the opening of Turkey-Armenia borders, APA reports. If the plans of Armenians and their supporters are realized, the strategic superiorities of Azerbaijan and Turkey will be broken up, political, economic and social relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey will be damaged seriously, which will lead to the weakening of opportunities for the energy resources control in the region. The opening of the borders will be only in favor of Armenia and some third countries supporting Armenia while Armenia is not leaving the territorial and “genocide” compensation claims against Turkey, not leaving the estimation of this issue to the scientists and historians, not stopping use it as a “tool of political pressure” against Turkey, not stopping occupation of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized lands, not allowing the refugees and displaced persons to return home”.

April 7, 2009
Milli Majlis against opening of borders

[ 07 Apr 2009 19:35 ]
Baku. Elnur Mammadli–APA. Azerbaijani political parties represented in Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament) held joint meeting on Tuesday in a protest against the opening of Turkey-Armenia borders, APA reports.

Representatives of the parties of New Azerbaijan, Social Welfare, Ana Vatan, Great System, Justice, Umid, All Azerbaijan Popular Front, Citizen Solidarity, Citizen Unity and Democratic Reforms attended the meeting. The parliamentarians noted that Turkey’s talks toward the opening of borders and establishing of diplomatic relation with Armenia could seriously damage the Turkey-Azerbaijan relations and the idea of Turkic unity completely. The opening of Turkey-Armenia borders was estimated as a support to the aggressors and it was noted that this action would negatively impact on the peace talks over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The participants of the meeting called on the Turkish authorities to avoid this action. The political parties issued a joint statement.
Azerbaijani people and public community concern over the Turkey’s talks toward the opening of borders and establishing of diplomatic relations with Armenia and protest against it, the statement reads. “Respecting the Turkey’s independent foreign policy, we would like to state that on the back of occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, turning of more than one million people into refugees and displaced persons, killing of thousands of peaceful people, committing Khojali Genocide against the humanity, such action will be a support to the Armenia’s occupant policy, false “genocide” claims and its actions to create military-political tensions and humanitarian crisis in the region. It will be painful damage on the Turkey-Azerbaijan brotherhood and on the ideas of Turkic solidarity. It will be credulity to think that Armenians will leave their insidious intentions of territorial claims against Turkey on the plea of so-called “Armenian genocide” after the opening of the borders”. The authors of the statement say that the policy aiming to establish peace and stability in the South Caucasus declared by the Turkish authorities can not only be restricted to the reopening of borders with Armenia.
“The only guarantee of stability in the region should be withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories and restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Otherwise, the reopening of the borders with Armenia will become a factor having negative impact on the ongoing processes and peace talks in the region and serving to increase tension and confrontation,” the statement says.

The parties signing the statement once more note that they attach great importance to Turkey-Azerbaijan strategic partnership and, protest against the steps taken by Turkish authorities for the reopening of borders with Armenia and state that such an act is not in line with friendly relations between the countries and peoples and that this policy contradicts the interests of Turkish Republic. The parties call on Turkish authorities not to establish relations or open borders with Armenia.

April 7, 2009