The South Caucasus: A common future?

Religious leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan made a call in Baku for a peaceful resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II, stated that problems between states should be solved in accordance with international law and the rights of the nations and emphasized his faith in the common future of the South Caucasus.

Clearly, the current situation in the region – the “frozen” Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, Russia’s decision on the acceptance of independence of Georgian rebel regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, since 2008, the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and, more dramatically, Washington’s “double-standards” toward Azerbaijan – raises a crucial question: “Is there a common future for the south Caucasus states?” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » April 2010

Armenia: Ratification suspended due to Turkish ‘preconditions’

Armenia’s ruling coalition said on Thursday it had suspended the ratification in parliament of peace accords with Turkey, dealing a blow to U.S.-backed efforts to bury a century of hostility between the neighbours.

Christian Armenia and Muslim Turkey signed accords in October last year to overcome the legacy of the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, but the atmosphere has soured in recent months. Under the accords, Armenia and Turkey agreed to establish diplomatic ties and open the border within two months of parliamentary approval. Neither parliament has approved the protocols, and Yerevan and Ankara have accused each other of trying to re-write the texts. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » April 2010

Why Turkey is right in demanding the end to occupation in Karabakh

In order to continue the “normalization” of Turkey-Armenia relations, it has become the major stipulation to bring the protocols signed in Zurich, Oct. 10, onto the agenda of the two parliaments.

There are reports that in the meetings held in Washington on April 12-13, Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan faced pressures to immediately bring the Zurich protocols onto the agenda of the Turkish Parliament. Some media outlets in the West and Turkey have strongly criticized Erdoğan for linking the “normalization” of Turkey-Armenia relations to the stipulation “to release Karabakh from occupation” and thus, “blocking up” the way of the process. While assessing from several aspects the stipulation “to release Karabakh from occupation” in the process of the “normalization” of Turkey-Armenia relations, we see that Prime Minister Erdoğan’s statement in the Azerbaijani parliament on May 13, 2009, is in line with the principles of the international law and human rights. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Azerbaijan Press, Turkish Press No Comments » April 2010

Turkish FM assures Azerbaijan of ‘united’ stand on Armenia

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Monday reassured Azerbaijan that Ankara remained “united” with Baku and would uphold Azerbaijani interests during its reconciliation efforts with Armenia.

On a brief visit to the Azerbaijani capital Baku, Davutoglu said he had provided Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev with details of a meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian last week in Washington. “I came to Baku in order to inform the leadership of Azerbaijan on the meeting in Washington. Azerbaijan and Turkey share a united position on the issues in question,” Davutoglu told journalists in comments shown on ANS television. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » April 2010