Turkish Forum

Category: Southern Caucasus

  • Azerbaijanis protest opening of Turkey-Armenia border

    Azerbaijanis protest opening of Turkey-Armenia border

    Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev, Elnur Mammadli-APA. “The opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia is contrary not only to the interests of Azerbaijan, but also to the interests of Turkey. Nobody in Azerbaijan believes that Turkey can take such step”, Malahat Ibrahimgizi from ruling New Azerbaijan Part (YAP) told APA. According to her, opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia has become a subject of discussions after Adulla Gul’s visit to Yerevan to watch the football match. She noted that Azerbaijan was seriously and justly concerned over this issue: “20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territories are under the occupation. It means that Armenians have occupied not only the territory of Azerbaijan, but also the international law.”

    Non-party deputy Ganira Pashayeva told APA that she was against the opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia before the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from the occupation. “Opening of borders is unacceptable before the solution to Nagorno Karabagh problem”. To her, Turkish Prime Minister has today refuted the information on opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia: “I would like to hope that this refutation would continue till the liberation of Azerbaijan’s lands from occupation”.

    Head of Azerbaijan-Turkey Interparliamentary Friendship Group Nizami Jafarov told APA that the opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia was not convincing. According to the MP, if such case happens the Government of Azerbaijan will protest this issue: “If the borders are opened before the solution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict the result will not be satisfactory. Turkey has already taken certain steps in this direction, but Armenia has done nothing instead”.

    Chairman of United Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (BAXCP), Deputy Gudrat Hasanguliyev told APA if Turkish community did not protest this issue AKP administration would open the borders with Armenia: “They are seriously preparing for this. If different parties, communities, intellectuals and media of Turkey do demonstrate their strict positions in this issue, the Turkish government will realize their intentions. Turkey established economic relations with Armenia and even there are flights between the two countries, the only issue was to make these ties formal”. Hasanguliyev stated that it was a right step that Azerbaijani President refused to attend the “Alliance of Civilizations” project meeting in Turkey.

    Head of Musavat Party Isa Gambar noted that he did not believe in the opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia: “There is huge and global process today. And there are many players and factors in this process. And each player of this process has its own interests while making decisions. And of course Azerbaijan also has its own interests and the most important interest is to make Armenia refrain from its aggressive policy. At the same time, strategic and friendly relations should further be developed with Turkey”.

    Chairman of Azerbaijan Popular Front Party Ali Karimli noted that Azerbaijan was seriously and justly concerned over the opening of borders between Turkey and Armenia. The Government of Azerbaijan should speak openly in this issue. Today I’ve heard about the first steps in this respect. There should be consecutive policy and the talks should be conducted with Turkish government.

  • Azerbaijan Warns Turkey

    Azerbaijan Warns Turkey

     

     

    https://www.azatutyun.am/a/1602796.html

    By Emil Danielyan

    Turkey will act against the national interests of Azerbaijan if it normalizes relations with Armenia before a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Thursday.

    “If the [Turkish-Armenian] border is opened before Armenian troops’ withdrawal from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, that will run counter to Azerbaijan’s national interests,” Mammadyarov told journalists during a visit to Georgia.

    “We have brought this opinion to the notice of the Turkish leadership,” he said in remarks broadcast by the Azerbaijani ANS television and monitored by BBC. “To tell the truth, the Turkish leadership accepts that and says that the [Karabakh peace] talks should continue and that Armenia’s troops should withdraw from the occupied territories. Only on this condition can the border be opened.”

    The warning followed Turkish and Western media reports that Armenia and Turkey are poised to announce an agreement that commits them to gradually establishing full diplomatic relations and reopening their border. Ankara shut down the frontier in 1993, at the height of the war in Karabakh, out of solidarity with Turkic Azerbaijan. A Karabakh settlement acceptable to Baku has been a key Turkish precondition for normalizing relations with Armenia.

    The two neighboring nations embarked on a dramatic rapprochement last summer amid indications that Ankara is ready to stop linking Turkish-Armenian ties to Karabakh. The apparent policy change has prompted serious concern from Azerbaijani politicians and pundits. They believe that an open border with Turkey would ease Armenia’s regional isolation and encourage it to maintain the Karabakh status quo.

    “Hurriyet Daily News” claimed on Thursday that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev has threatened to halt gas supplies to Turkey if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government cuts a ground-breaking deal with the Armenians. The paper claimed that Aliev made the threat at a meeting with unspecified “third parties” in Baku. It gave no further details.

    Aliev was expected to discuss the matter with the visiting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza. “Mr. Bryza travels to Azerbaijan Thursday to discuss how a Turkish-Armenian agreement could help revive efforts for a settlement on Nagorno-Karabakh,” reported “The Wall Street Journal.” The paper cited an unnamed senior Turkish official as saying that Washington is trying to facilitate such an agreement.

    According to “The Wall Street Journal” and the Turkish press, Ankara and Yerevan are close to signing a “roadmap” to normalizing bilateral times and setting up inter-governmental commissions dealing with various issues of mutual interest. One of these commissions would reportedly study the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

    The idea of such a study was floated by Erdogan in 2005 and rejected by then Armenian President Robert Kocharian, who considered it a Turkish ploy designed to scuttle worldwide recognition of the massacres as genocide. Kocharian’s successor, Serzh Sarkisian, has indicated that he does not object to the Turkish proposal in principle.

    Press reports have said that the Turkish-Armenian deal could be unveiled during or shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama’s April 6-7 visit to Turkey. Turkish leaders hope that will discourage Obama from honoring his election campaign pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide. They have warned that such a declaration would set back the Turkish-Armenian dialogue.

    Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian dismissed the Turkish warnings during an early March visit to Paris. Diplomatic sources say Nalbandian may again meet his Turkish counterpart, Ali Babacan, early next week on the sidelines of a UN-sponsored international conference in Istanbul. For his part, Babacan is expected to visit Yerevan on April 16 to attend a high-level meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.

    (Photolur photo: Elmar Mammdyarov.)

  • Are Turkey And Armenia About To Normalize Relations?

    Are Turkey And Armenia About To Normalize Relations?

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    In September, Turkish President Abdullah Gul (left) accepted Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian’s invitation to attend a soccer match between their countries.

    April 02, 2009

    There are increasing hints that Turkey and Armenia could soon announce a deal reopening their border — which has been closed since 1993 — and restoring diplomatic relations.

    Regional analyst Richard Giragosian, director of the Yerevan-based Armenian Center for National and International Studies, discusses the possibilities of such a deal with RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel.

    RFE/RL: You are one of an increasing number of regional analysts who see a forthcoming accord between Ankara and Yerevan. Why is that?

    Richard Giragosian: We see broader developments that have moved both parties, Armenia and Turkey, much closer to forging a historic agreement. These broader trends include not only Russian support for such an initiative but we also see [that] the upcoming visit of U.S. President [Barack] Obama to Turkey [on April 6-7], the recent visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Turkey, and several months of secret negotiations and diplomatic negotiations between the Armenians and Turks in Switzerland have paved the way for a historic breakthrough agreement.

    RFE/RL: There are some additional variables to consider that might increase pressure to reach agreement, including Obama’s campaign promise to support a Congressional resolution that would recognize as genocide the killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the period of World War I, and the upcoming Armenian Remembrance Day on April 24, which the White House traditionally marks with a statement. How soon do you think a Turkish-Armenian accord might be announced?

    Giragosian: We see leaks of such a deal in the Turkish media and it seems both sides are now preparing their respective societies to brace for an announcement that possibly could come as early as April 16, when the Turkish foreign minister arrives in Armenia in the form of a meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation organization.

    However, I do not expect a breakthrough agreement to be unveiled during the April 16 meeting. It seems more likely that Turkey will decide to wait until after April 24 in order to exert maximum leverage over the Obama administration to refrain from recognizing the “Armenian Genocide” in his April 24 statement.

    Thawing Relations

    RFE/RL: If there is an announcement of an accord, what points might it include?

    Giragosian: Several elements will be announced, starting with an agreement to open the long-closed border between Armenia and Turkey, followed by an agreement to move toward diplomatic relations, with the Turkish ambassador in Georgia most likely assuming the portfolio of representing Turkey in Armenia.

    Third, we see an agreement as well to form a large, all-encompassing governmental commission to resolve several issues, most importantly including the “Armenian Genocide” issue. And fourthly, we do see signs of a possible Turkish unveiling of a new document or road map on Nagorno-Karabakh committing all sides to work within the OSCE Minsk Group mediation process and committing all sides to working hard to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is the last frozen conflict in the region.

    RFE/RL: How much opposition is there in Turkey and Armenia to an accord?

    Giragosian: Once the agreement is announced publicly, this will invite confrontation with powerful vested interests. On the Turkish side, the vested interests which will oppose this will perhaps be a nationalist reaction against normalization. From the Armenian side, the Armenian government will have to deal with the Armenian diaspora, which has taken the lead role in terms of Armenian nationalism on this issue and the lead role in genocide-recognition efforts.

    All Sides In Favor

    RFE/RL: You are in Yerevan. What is motivating the Armenian government to pursue an accord at this time?

    Giragosian: The timing is both ironic and inductive to normalization and an agreement, mainly because it is this Armenian government that is much less popular and much less legitimate than any previous Armenian government, making its desire for a foreign-policy success even more profound.

    The Armenian government, embattled by a political internal stalemate, needs a foreign-policy success to distract international attention and divert it away from domestic shortcomings and also to endow it with a degree of legitimacy, which it lacks.

    RFE/RL: And what about the Turkish side?

    Giragosian: We also see, for the first time, that it is in Turkey’s national security interest to open the border, to stabilize the restive Kurdish regions of eastern Turkey, which, after the war in Iraq, is even a larger concern for Turkey.

    RFE/RL: Finally, what is Russia’s position on a Turkish-Armenian accord? In the past, Moscow — which has strong ties with Yerevan — has been seen as against it. Has that changed?

    Giragosian: The key difference here is that after the war in August [in South Ossetia between Russia and Georgia], the Russians are now supporting the process, unlike in the past, and in fact they are also looking to use open borders between Armenia and Turkey to their own economic benefit by virtue of their control over energy and telecommunications in Armenia, but also to further isolate and marginalize Georgia, which is in their strategic interest.

    But despite the negative agenda I do think that, regardless of the motivations, that the end result is a net benefit for all sides.

    https://www.rferl.org/a/Are_Turkey_And_Armenia_About_To_Normalize_Relations/1600894.html

  • Turkey’s state radio begins broadcasting in Armenian, Kurdish

    Turkey’s state radio begins broadcasting in Armenian, Kurdish

     

    ISTANBUL – Turkey’s state run Television and Radio Corporation, or TRT, has launched Armenian and Kurdish channels in the latest in a series of planned foreign language broadcasting mediums being launched by the state.

    Kurdish radio programs began on April 1, while Armenian radio programs began on April 2.

    Radyo 6 will air in Kurdish 24-hours a day, TRT said in a written statement. 

    Armenian programs would be broadcast everyday between 7.00-7.30 a.m. and 6.00-6.30 p.m. as part of “The Voice of Turkey” radio, the statement added.

    The move comes as Ankara and Yerevan continue to engage in a normalization process between the two neighbors that for decades have had no diplomatic relations.

    Turkey also recently took steps to boost the cultural and democratic rights of Kurds with the Jan. 1 launch of TRT-6, a TV channel that airs in Kurdish 24-hours a day.

  • Azerbaijani FM expresses concern on Turkey-Armenia relations thaw

    Azerbaijani FM expresses concern on Turkey-Armenia relations thaw

    ISTANBUL – Azerbaijan’s foreign minister expressed concern on Thursday at the prospect of the border being opened between Armenia and Turkey.

    “If the border is opened before the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, it would run counter to Azerbaijan’s national interests,” Reuters quoted Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov as telling Azeri ANS television.  

    Ankara and Yerevan have agreed on the major parameters of a historic reconciliation in secret talks to start diplomatic relations and re-open their shared border, which Turkey closed in 1993 after Armenia occupied the Nagorno-Karabakh region, sources told Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review earlier.

    Mamedyarov said Azerbaijan had conveyed its opinion on the issue to Ankara, adding Turkey accepted his country’s concerns. 

  • Outreach to Armenia prompts Azeri threat

    Outreach to Armenia prompts Azeri threat

    by Barçın Yinanç

    ISTANBUL -Concerned that the Turkish government might open its border with Armenia before reconciliation is reached, the Azerbaijani government has signaled it might stop selling natural gas to Turkey.

    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told third parties that Baku would cut gas supplies to Turkey if Ankara reaches an agreement with Yerevan before substantial progress is underway on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review has learned. As a sign of how serious it is, Azerbaijan signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia last week for long-term supply of gas at market prices.

    Turkey and Armenia have been holding talks to normalize ties, which would involve the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of borders. Although Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Armenia in 1991, Ankara has no diplomatic relations with its neighbor. In 1993, Ankara closed its border with Armenia in an act of solidarity with Azerbaijan after Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Turkey and Armenia are said to have come very close to an agreement on the timetable to normalize relations. As April 24 is approaching, the date each year when the United States issues a presidential statement on the World War I mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, expectations are high that Turkey and Armenia will announce an agreement. U.S. President Barack Obama had pledged to recognize the Armenian killings as “genocide” during his election campaign. A joint statement by Turkish and Armenian officials on the normalization of relations might prevent Obama from using the word “genocide.”

    This development in turn has upset the Azerbaijani government, which argues a decision to open Turkey’s borders with Armenia would leave Baku at a disadvantage in negotiating for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territory. The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, has been the target of severe criticism in the Azerbaijani press with commentators there accusing the Turkish government of selling out. The Turkish Foreign Ministry has been informed that Aliyev has told third parties that were Turkey to open its borders to Armenia, cooperation on energy supplies would end.

    Ankara and Baku have been trying to reach an agreement over the price of natural gas Turkey buys from Azerbaijan through the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline. The agreement to buy natural gas for $120 per 1,000 cubic meters for the duration of the first year following the opening of the pipeline has long ended and the two failed to reach an agreement as Azerbaijan wants to sell its gas at international market prices, which is around $350 per 1,000 cubic meters.

    Russia, on the other hand, has been courting Azerbaijan to buy its gas at international market prices in order to undermine the Nabucco project, which aims to bring Central Asian gas to Europe via Turkey. Gazprom and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan last week signed a memorandum of understanding for long-term supplies of Central Asian gas to Russia at market prices, Web site Euractiv.com reported yesterday. According to Gazprom’s press release, the parties committed to massive long-term cooperation after an agreement was reached March 27 to settle the terms of Azerbaijan’s gas sales to Russia.

    Pavel K. Baev, a senior researcher from the Oslo International Research Institute, said the project could make Nabucco irrelevant as Azerbaijan is seen as the most likely gas supplier for Nabucco. The Turkish government is under pressure from the Obama administration to finalize and announce the agreement with Yerevan. Turkey and Armenia have agreed on most of the wording of a protocol for normalization but there are still some points where the two need to agree. The Turkish side wants to insert the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh in the protocol, but the Armenian side has not been compromising on the issue.