Turkish Forum

Tag: Turkey-Armenia

  • Official statement of Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan

    Official statement of Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan

    [ 12 Oct 2009 18:08 ]
    Baku – APA. Turkish embassy in Azerbaijan issued an official statement, APA reports. The statement says:
    “We are concerned over some incorrect reports in Azerbaijani media on reopening of Turkey-Armenia borders after the protocols on the normalization of Turkey-Armenia relations wee signed in Zurich on October 10. Therefore, we want to draw the attention of Azerbaijani public to the following points once more.

    As the world community knows, Turkey closed the borders with Armenia after the occupation of Azerbaijani territories. As our Prime Minister reiterated, Turkey-Armenia border cannot be reopened unless the occupied Azerbaijani territories are released. As our Foreign Minister said no issue is more important than Turkey-Azerbaijan cooperation. The reopening of the borders is a long process. This process should be simultaneous with the Nagorno Karabakh problem and occupied Azerbaijani territories. Turkey regards the problems in the South Caucasus as a whole and makes efforts for opening of all closed borders to ensure peace, stability and cooperation in the region. Taking into account the close relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, the world community knows that peace and stability can be ensured in the South Caucasus only when all the borders are opened simultaneously. We expect Azerbaijani people to rely on Turkey and not to believe incorrect news.”

  • ‘Cheated’ by the West, Turkey looks to Armenia – analyst

    ‘Cheated’ by the West, Turkey looks to Armenia – analyst

    MOSCOW, October 12 (RIA Novosti) – An important reason for Turkey’s decision to sign a deal on restoring diplomatic ties with Armenia is that it feels cheated by the West and wants to secure its economic interests, a Russian analyst said on Monday.

    Turkey and Armenia signed on Saturday historic accords on restoring diplomatic relations and opening borders. The documents have yet to be ratified by the country’s parliaments, and face fierce opposition from nationalist parties in both countries.

    Mikhail Aleksandrov, head of the Caucasus department at the Institute of CIS Studies, said: “one important consideration for Turkey was to advance economic ties with Armenia, because the West has deceived Turkey.”

    “Turkey is not being let into the EU, the United States created problems with Iraq, and problems have arisen with transit via Georgia because Saakashvili started a war [with South Ossetia], and the Caspian pipeline passes through Georgia.”

    “In other words, U.S. policy has jeopardized Turkey’s economic interests,” he said.

    Aleksandrov said that because of these circumstances, Turkey proposed a plan of regional integration with the participation of the three Caucasus states, Russia and Turkey.

    “However, it first has to normalize relations with Armenia. So as a first step, Turkey has agreed to lift the blockade,” he said.

    On the issue of ratification, “the opposition is very strong, even within the ruling parties, both in Turkey and Armenia.”

    The European Armenian Federation for Justice has spoken out against the accords, which it says do not take into account issues such as the Turkish genocide of Armenians, recognition of the borders between Armenia and Turkey, and the Nagorny Karabakh conflict.

    Turkey has demanded that that Yerevan drop its campaign to have the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 internationally recognized as genocide.

    Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for Azerbaijan, a predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ally of Ankara, following a bloody conflict over Nagorny Karabakh between the two republics.

    The region in Azerbaijan, which has a largely Armenian population, has been a source of conflict between the former Soviet republics since the late 1980s and is de facto independent. Azerbaijan strongly opposes normalization of ties between Ankara and Yerevan before the Nagorny Karabakh conflict is resolved.

    Armenia and Turkey agreed to a “roadmap” to normalize their relations under Swiss mediation this April. The draft pact between the countries was backed by the United States and European Union.

  • Turkey-Armenian pact undermined by Karabakh dispute

    Turkey-Armenian pact undermined by Karabakh dispute

    Published: Monday 12 October 2009   

    Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark peace accord on Saturday (10 October) to restore ties and open their shared border after a century of hostility stemming from the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman forces in the First World War. But the next day a speech by Turkey’s prime minister made the agreement seem problematic.

    Turkey and Armenia signed an accord on Saturday in Zurich, aimed at restoring ties and opening their shared border. Last-minute disagreements delayed the signing ceremony for more than three hours, forcing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to engage in intense talks to salvage a deal. 

    In a further twist in the tale, Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Armenia must withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan to assure his parliament’s approval for the agreement. 

    “Turkey cannot take a positive step towards Armenia unless Armenia withdraws from Azerbaijani land […] if that issue is solved our people and our parliament will have a more positive attitude towards this protocol and this process,” Erdogan told a party congress in Ankara. 

    The Turkish and Armenian parliaments must approve the accord in the face of opposition from nationalists on both sides and an Armenian diaspora which insists Turkey acknowledge the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War One as genocide. 

    “We will bring the protocol to parliament but parliament has to see the conditions between Azerbaijan and Armenia to decide whether this protocol can be implemented,” Erdogan said. 

    Turkey cut ties and shut its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Turkic-language Azerbaijan, which was then fighting a losing battle against Armenian separatists in Karabakh. 

    In his comments, Erdogan looked to reassure ally Azerbaijan, which reacted angrily to the deal, saying it could threaten security and “cast a shadow” over its relations with Ankara. 

    “The normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia before the withdrawal of Armenian troops from occupied Azeri territory is in direct contradiction to the national interests of Azerbaijan,” the Azeri Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. 

    In a strongly-worded statement, the ministry said the deal “casts a shadow over the fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey,” which have historical roots. 

    Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian signed the Swiss-mediated deal in Zurich at a ceremony also attended by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. 

    In a statement on Sunday Lavrov welcomed the accord, saying Russia was happy and would lend support. 

    “The essence of the documents is evidence of both countries’ firm resolve to do their part […] Not one of the steps can be interpreted as damaging to any third party,” he said. 

    If the agreement comes into effect, it would boost EU candidate Turkey’s diplomatic clout in the volatile South Caucasus, a transit corridor for oil and gas to the West. 

    Turkish officials told Reuters the two sides had many disagreements over statements each was due to make in Zurich, including oblique references to the Karabakh conflict. In the end, neither Davutolgu nor Nalbadian made public statements. 

    Alexander Iskandaryan, director of the Caucasus Media Institute in Yerevan, said in reaction to Erdogan’s speech: “The Turkish side needs to play to its domestic audience. Erdogan and other political figures have made such statements often enough […] It’s a fact that neither the word Karabakh nor Azerbaijan appears in the documents that were signed.” 

    Although landlocked Armenia stands to make big gains, opening its impoverished economy to trade and investment, Armenia’s leader Serzh Sarksyan faces protests at home and from the huge Armenian diaspora, which views the thaw with suspicion. 

    (EurActiv with Reuters.) 

  • Turkey and Armenia normalise ties despite last-minute tensions

    Turkey and Armenia normalise ties despite last-minute tensions

    VALENTINA POP

    Today @ 09:30 CET

    EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers on Saturday signed protocols aimed at re-establishing diplomatic ties and re-opening their countries’ border after decades of hostility.

    Initially thought to be a mere formality, the signing ceremony in a luxurious Swiss hotel developed into a diplomatic drama on Saturday night (10 October), when the Turkish and Armenian ministers were about to call the whole event off after re-igniting the same historic divergences that have long soured their relations.

    The round of applause was delayed by three hours due to last-minute divergences (Photo: US State Deparment)

    Armenia wants Turkey to recognise what it calls a genocide against its people during the first World War, while a sore point for Turkey remains Armenia’s occupation of parts of neighbouring Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.

    It was mainly thanks to US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s emergency diplomacy – phone calls and meeting with the ministers – that the protocols were eventually signed three hours later.

    They still need to be ratified by the national parliaments in Ankara and Yerevan – a process which is likely to take some time due to strong opposition by certain parliamentary groups.

    The Swedish EU presidency welcomed the Saturday deal and “encourages Armenia and Turkey to remain committed to the process of normalisation and calls for the ratification and implementation the protocols as soon as possible,” a statement reads.

    The move may also have a positive impact on EU-Turkey accession negotiations, where normalisation of relations with neighbours plays an important role.

    “Turkey and Armenia have taken bold decisions on an historic step. We trust that they will show the same courage to pursue the commitments they have taken today. This will set a good example for the whole region,” EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn said.

    EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner and Russian top diplomat Sergei Lavrov also attended the signing ceremony in Zurich.

    Russia has a strategic interest in Armenia, where it still keeps a military base. The small, landlocked country between Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey and Georgia counted on Moscow’s support during its war with Azerbaijan in 1993.

    This resulted in a still unresolved ‘frozen conflict’ over the Azeri region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    The Azerbaijani foreign ministry on Sunday said Turkey should not have normalised ties without a deal over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu tried to alleviate Azeri fears, pointing out that the borders with Armenia could only be opened once it has withdrawn from Azerbaijan.

    https://euobserver.com/eu-political/28810

  • Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry statement on the signing of protocols

    Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry statement on the signing of protocols

    [ 11 Oct 2009 13:51 ]
    Baku-APA. Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a press statement on the signing of protocols in Switzerland on October 10 by Turkey and Armenia to establish and develop diplomatic relations.

    The statement sent to the APA by the ministry’s press service reads:

    “The position of the Azerbaijani side on this issue remains unchanged. In 1993 Turkey closed its shared borders with Armenia in protest against the illegal occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, and Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan. As a result of Armenian aggression, 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands were occupied, about one million Azerbaijani citizens underwent ethnic cleansing, became refugees and internally displaced persons, and cultural and historical heritage of Azerbaijan was vandalized in the occupied lands.

    Since then, Armenia has refused to abide by numerous resolutions and documents made by the UN Security Council and General Assembly, OSCE, PACE, the OIC and other international organizations which condemn the aggressive policy of Armenia, demand the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories and the return of IDPs to their homes, and no progress has been made towards removal of the consequences of the aggression.

    In this regard, Azerbaijan refers to the numerous statements by Turkish senior officials, especially Prime Minister Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in particular his speech in Azerbaijan’s parliament on May 14, 2009 that “Turkey closed its border with Armenia after occupation of Azerbaijani lands. And, borders can be opened after the removal of the occupation. We will never take a step forward from this point as long as our Azerbaijani brothers are not satisfied. These issues are interrelated and can not be considered separately”, and his statement in Iftar with the Turkish media representatives on September 17, 2009 that “we can not open the gates before the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is settled … We can not take this step without solving this problem”

    As we have repeatedly stated, to establish relations with other states is, in principle, her sovereign right. However, the normalization of Turkey’s relations with Armenia before the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories directly contradicts the national interests of Azerbaijan, and casts a shadow on the spirit of the friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey which is based on historical roots. Given the importance of opening all borders and links in the region, Azerbaijan believes that the unilateral opening of the Turkish-Armenian borders would call into question the architecture of regional peace and security “.

  • Armenia-Turkey deals build confidence in the future – ministry

    Armenia-Turkey deals build confidence in the future – ministry

    YEREVAN, October 11 (RIA Novosti) – The signing of historic accords between Armenia and Turkey provides a chance to have confidence in the future, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

    Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbanian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu signed protocols on diplomatic relations and on bilateral relations Saturday at Zurich University. The documents are still to be ratified by parliaments amid continued fierce opposition from nationalist parties in both countries.

    “The signing of protocols became a logical result of the Armenian president’s initiative aimed at restoring relations between the two neighboring countries without preliminary conditions,” the Armenian ministry said.

    “Everyday intensive talks have made it possible to find the key that is to open the lock and grant the two states an unprecedented opportunity to step into the future with confidence,” it said.

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday the deals were “an important step,” but added that Turkey will not open its border with Armenia until Armenia and another ex-Soviet republic, Azerbaijan, settle their dispute over the Nagorny Karabakh region.

    Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for Muslim ally Azerbaijan, following a bloody conflict over Nagorny Karabakh between the two republics.

    Turkey has also demanded that Yerevan drop its campaign to have the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 internationally recognized as genocide.

    Armenia and Turkey agreed to a “roadmap” to normalize their relations under Swiss mediation this April. The draft pact between the countries had been backed by the United States and European Union.

    Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian population, has been a source of conflict between the former Soviet republics since the late 1980s. The province has its own government and is de facto independent.