Turkey says normalization talks with Armenia are underway

The talks aimed at the normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan continue at various levels, a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday, ruling out recent reports suggesting the suspension of the agreed road map with Armenia.

“We are discussing all issues with Armenia, and what is important is principles we set,” Anatolian Agency quoted spokesperson Burak Ozugergin as telling a press conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

Ozugergin said there was also an ongoing process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and both processes were affecting each other. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » June 2009

US envoy hopes for Nagorno-Karabakh deal on principles mid-July

International mediators hope to reach a deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia on the principles of a peace deal on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region at talks tentatively planned for mid-July in Russia, the U.S. negotiator told Reuters in an interview published Monday.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said he and his fellow mediators from France and Russia were “shooting for” a full framework agreement by the end of 2009.  

But Bryza conceded the risk of a last-minute breakdown of the kind that derailed earlier efforts to broker agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » June 2009

Turkish-Armenian deal on course, Clinton says

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says in a press conference that the process between Turkey and Armenia aiming to normalize their ties continues positively. Although there have been no concrete steps taken by either state since late April, Clinton says Washington strongly supports the process including a road map.

Despite a lack of visible progress since late April when Turkey and Armenia jointly pledged to normalize their ties, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the deal was on track and that Washington strongly supported the process. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » June 2009

Minsk Group fails to make progress in Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkish FM

The OSCE Minsk Group, which is seeking to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, has failed to make any progress toward a solution of the dispute, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said late Sunday.

The Armenian occupation of Azarbaijani territory in Nagorno-Karabakh had been going on for 17 years, Davutoglu told the Anatolian Agency in Damascus, where he is attending the 36th meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » May 2009

FM: Minsk Group making no progress

The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has failed to make progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, said the foreign minister over the weekend.

Ahmet Davutoğlu, who flew to Azerbaijan yesterday for talks on the latest Nagorno-Karabakh developments as well as the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, after attending the Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting in Syria.

In comments on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s criticism of the Minsk Group, Davutoğlu said: “It is impossible not to agree with Aliyev’s statements on the performance of the Minsk Group. No progress has been made as proved by the past record.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » May 2009

Armenia’s Karabakh propaganda on Eurovision

Armenian politics intervened with Eurovision this weekend. When the live feed shifted to Yerevan, a gigantic statue that is the symbol of Nagorno-Karabakh appeared onscreen.

The 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow on Saturday turned out to be an arena of politics. When the host from Moscow turned the live feed to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, striking pictures were reflected to television screens worldwide.

Sirusho, the Armenian pop star who represented the country last year with the song “Qele Qele,” was onscreen to report the Armenian votes when she lifted the card she was holding to cover her face. There was a photograph of “Menk Yenk Mer Sarerı” (We Are Our Own Mountains), in another name, “Dad u Bab” (Grandmother and Grandfather), the gigantic statue that is the symbol of the Armenian administration of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the card. The same picture was also on barcovision. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » May 2009

Armenia slams Turkish PM over Karabakh issue

Armenian leaders on Thursday criticized Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan for making the opening of the border with Armenia conditional on its withdrawal from the occupied Azeri territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Any Turkish attempt to interfere in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can only harm the ongoing negotiations between Baku and Yerevan, Armenian media quoted President Sezrh Sargsyan as saying after meeting Brian Fall, Britain’s special representative for the South Caucasus. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » May 2009

Armenia slams Turkish PM over Karabakh link to border opening

Armenian leaders on Thursday criticized Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan for making the opening of the border with Armenia conditional on its withdrawal from the occupied Azeri territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Any Turkish attempt to interfere in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can only harm the ongoing negotiations between Baku and Yerevan, Armenian media quoted President Sezrh Sargsyan as saying after meeting Brian Fall, Britain’s special representative for the South Caucasus.   Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » May 2009

Even if we want, we can’t walk away from Baku

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is completing the first stage of very important visits today. He will then move on to Russia. Meetings with Azerbaijani leader Aliyev and Russia’s Prime Minister Putin are of vital importance for Turkey and the balance in the Caucasus.

These contacts will influence the following developments:

• They will either put the issue between Turkey and Armenia on the right track or push it into a situation where there won’t be any way out. As relations with Armenia decay, relations with Washington will get worse and pressure on Turkey exercised from the international community will increase.
• The solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia will either get easier or even more chaotic. If it becomes unsolvable Turkey and Azerbaijan will be uncomfortable even if Russia benefits from it.
• Turkey will become an energy corridor and an extremely valuable bridge between the Caucasus and Europe. This project will either gain speed or raise difficulties during Erdoğan’s visit. Read the rest of this entry »

  Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » May 2009

  
  

  New road block on the ’road map’

  The road to reconciliation between Ankara and Yerevan takes a detour as Prime Minister Erdoğan stops off in Baku to meet with Azerbaijani President Aliyev. In a joint press conference, Erdoğan once again states that a solution to Nagorno-Karabakh problem, namely the retreat of Armenian troops, is the key to opening the border between Turkey and Armenia

   Squeezed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkey yesterday reaffirmed that “the border with Armenia will remain closed until Armenian occupation of Azeri territories ends,” potentially bringing reconciliatory talks with Yerevan back to the beginning and the road map to a dead end. Read the rest of this entry »

  Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » May 2009

  
  

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