Month: March 2007

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
March 9 2007

Turkish PM Erdogan: Turkey is giving all possible support for
Azerbaijan in its fair fight

Friday , 09 March 2007

Turkish Prime Minister Recap Tayyip Erdogan interviewed by Azeri news
source APA:

– How do you evaluate the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan?
What about the reality of the ‘one nation, two countries?’

Relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are growing in all spheres on
the basis of deep-rooted and culture-pushed brotherhood. One of the
architects of these relations, the great leader Heydar Aliyev said
Azerbaijan and Turkey are one nation in two independent states. This
slogan came true. The world feels jealous of Azerbaijan and Turkey’s
sharing both the grief and the happiness.

The two countries are enjoying high-level political, economic,
military, cultural, commercial and other relations. The mutual
confidence and joint activities strengthened and consolidated our
relations and we created a healthy foundation for this cooperation.
We observe that Azerbaijan’s energy wealth, fast developing economy,
effective reforms in democracy and human rights elevate it to its
deserved summit. Implementation of Baku-Tbilissi-Ceyhan and
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum projects shoulder-to-shoulder with Brother
Azerbaijan and Neighbor Georgia will be followed by execution of
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad project. Azerbaijan is very determined
towards this issue.

Turkey have to date favored Azerbaijani people in sad and happy days
and will do its utmost afterwards.

– Armenia continues to occupy 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory.
Stipulating that Armenia should withdraw from Azerbaijan’s lands and
some one million of displaced Azeri people should return to their
native land, Turkey said it would have relations with Armenia after
that. Armenia’s giving up baseless ‘genocide’ and territory claim is
one of the stipulations Turkey made. If Armenia gives up the false
claims, can Turkey close eyes to occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands and
Karabakh conflict?

You know what stance Turkey has taken on Armenia’s aggression against
Nagorno Karabakh and 7 neighboring regions. Within its potential,
Turkey is giving all possible support for Azerbaijan in its fair
fight. Turkey supports termination of the occupation violating the
international laws. We will not leave Azerbaijan alone.

If Armenia gives up its current policy and takes a friendly stance,
it will take a significant step toward the normalization of the
relation. It seems to me, this move will lead to the settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and improve relations between
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

– There are cool relations between Turkey and the European Union? Is
it possible that the attempt to develop all-round relations with the
Turk republics becomes the priority? In this case, how real is it to
create Turk Common Market?

First of all, I would say the relations between Turkey and the
European Union are not alternative or rival to the ties between
Turkey and other Turkic states.

We enjoy historical, ethnic and cultural relations with Turkic
states, and Asian geography has always been one of the priorities in
Turkey’s foreign policy. Turkey was the first to recognize the
independence of Azerbaijan and Turkic states in Central Asia and has
done its best to backed strengthening of their independence,
sovereignty, territorial integrity, political-economic integration
into the international arena, as well as their political, economic
and military infrastructure.

Summit of Heads of Turkish speaking countries is the platform
bringing together the Turkish countries. The last summit held on
November 17, 2006 in Antalya was the indicator of the importance
Turkish speaking countries attach to the solidarity ad mutual
understanding.

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines and
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars-Akhalkalaki railway project are building up
strategic bridge between Central Asia’s Turk Republics, Azerbaijan
and Turkey.

These countries that celebrate the 15th anniversary of their
independence have become the members of international community and
took their merit places in the world. Our cooperation covered all the
levels of our societies within these 15 years. I have no doubt that
all sides show political will to develop the relations on the basis
of respect, equality and common advantage.

APA

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
March 9 2007

‘No Freedom of Speech for Turks in Switzerland"

Friday , 09 March 2007

* Turkish Marxist party leader Dogu Perincek found guilty by a Swiss
court. A Turkish Prof. is on the list of the Swis court

A Swiss court found Turkish politician Dogu Perincek guilty on Friday
of denying the so called mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks
in 1915 amounted to genocide, the first such conviction under Swiss
law.

Dogu Perincek, head of the leftist-Marxist Turkish Labour Party,
called the branding of the killings as genocide "an international
lie" during a speech in the Swiss city of Lausanne in July 2005.

Judge Pierre-Henri Winzap sentenced him at the Lausanne criminal
court to a 90-day suspended jail term and fined him 3,000 Swiss
francs ($2,461), in line with the prosecutor’s request, Swiss news
agency ATS reported.

He ordered Perincek to pay a symbolic fine of 1,000 Swiss francs to
the Swiss-Armenian Association for "moral injury".

Winzap told the court Perincek was an "arrogant instigator" and
"racist" who had intentionally denied the genocide, which Swiss
public opinion considered "an established historic fact". Perincek,
like many Turks, argue that there is no proof for the Armenian
claims. Thus it is now impossible to reject the Armenian accusations
in Switzerland for anyone. Dr. Nilgun Gulcan names the new trend as
‘shut-up-and-accept it approach’. "We as the Turks cannot defend
ourselves bu have to accept what impose on us. Armenians accuse and
they argue that there is no need to debate the accusations. The
Western democracy is just for the white Western and Christian people.
There is no need to say more. The verdict clearly show how the Swiss
justice is just" she added. Gulcan also urged Turkey to cut all
official and unofficial connecions with Armenia. "Armenia is not our
neighbour. Armenia is under occupation of the Armenian diaspora. They
undermine Turkish interests everywhere and Turkey should also
undermine all Armenian interests anywhere. All illegal Armenian
workers must be deported and all flights should be suspended by
Turkey. We do not need Armenians." Mrs. Gulcan said.

The 65-year-old Turkish politician, whose party has no seats in the
Turkish parliament, was convicted under a 1995 Swiss law which bans
denying, belittling or justifying any genocide.The maximum penalty is
three years. However there is no international court verdict
confirming Armenian claims. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul
called the Armenian side to go to the international courts, yet
Yerevan rejected the offer.

Twelve Turks were acquitted of similar charges in 2001. Perincek, who
submitted 90 kg (200 lb) of historical documents, argued there had
been no genocide against Armenians, but there had been "reciprocal
massacres". More than 520.000 Turkish and Kurdish Muslims were
massacred by the Armenian nationalist groups during the First World
War.

"I defend my right to freedom of expression. There was no genocide,
therefore this law cannot apply to my remarks," Mr. Perincek said in
his opening statement on Tuesday.

He told reporters he would appeal the sentence which he denounced as
"unjust and impartial" and "imperialist".

Prof. Sedat Laciner from USAK (Ankara) said "this kind of verdicts
will not help Turkish-Armenian relations or Armenia. The verdict
deepened Turkish mistrust towards the European Union and the West in
general. The EU’s biased and discriminative policies regarding the
Armenian and Cyprus issues streghtened the isolationalist nationalism
in Turkey".

The Irish Times
March 10, 2007 Saturday

Russian exile became one of France’s favourite authors

Henri Troyat: Henri Troyat, who has died at the age of 95, was one
of the most prolific and popular French writers of the 20th century.
The author of short psychological novels, long, multi- volume
historical frescos, short stories, plays, reportage and biographies,
he had a literary career that spanned 70 years and was particularly
distinctive for its blend of French and Russian cultures.

Troyat was born Lev Aslanovich Tarassov in Moscow, the son of a
wealthy Armenian draper who had made a fortune through investment in
railways and banking. He was brought up in a privileged environment,
with a coachman, a chauffeur and, most significantly, a Swiss
governess who taught him French. All this came to an end, however,
when the Russian revolution broke out in 1917.

Initially, the family retreated to their estate in the Caucasus to
await the collapse of Bolshevik rule; but by 1920 it was clear that
the counter-revolution was failing and that they would have to leave
their homeland. They managed to catch the last emigre boat from the
Crimea to Constantinople, from where they joined the exiled Russian
community in Paris, settling in the prosperous suburb of Neuilly,
where Troyat attended the Lycée Pasteur.

Like many Russian exiles, however, the family found life in the west
difficult and drifted slowly into debt, culminating with the arrival
of the bailiffs and an enforced move to the Place de la Nation.

Although his parents experienced the classic problems of once-wealthy
emigres – loss of status, isolation and a growing reliance on an
unreal Russian community, still transfixed by a belief in the
imminent downfall of the Soviet regime – Troyat himself adapted
quickly to his new environment. True, the themes of exile and
political caution remain powerful in his fiction, but he studied law
at the Sorbonne, acquired French citizenship in 1933, and was
appointed as a civil servant in the prefecture of the Seine, a post
he held until 1942.

At the same time, he began a literary career with a series of short
psychological novels, which derived a great deal from his attendance
at lectures on psychoanalysis at the Sainte-Anne Hospital. Faux Jour
(Deceptive Light) appeared in 1935 and immediately won the Prix du
Roman Populiste. It was followed that same year by Le Vivier (The
Fish-Tank), by Grandeur Nature (Life-Size, 1936) and La Clef de Voûte
(The Keystone, 1937). In 1938, he won both the Prix Max Barthou de
l’Académie Française and the Prix Goncourt for the novel L’Araigne
(The Web).

Thus by the age of 27, Troyat was a well-known and relatively
prosperous writer, although his parents’ experience had taught him
caution and he retained his post in the prefecture. With the outbreak
of the second World War, Troyat was mobilised as a lieutenant in the
supply section at Tulle and returned to Paris in 1940 – at which
point his career took a major shift. Although he continued with his
short psychological fiction – such as La Neige en Deuil (Snow in
Mourning, 1952) – he embarked on two major innovations that would
dominate his subsequent work: the long novel cycle and biography.

Immediately after the completion of L’Araigne, he had begun preparing
for a biography of Dostoevsky. Not only did this introduce him to the
work of archival research, which was to prove invaluable for his
historical fiction, it initiated a sequence of biographies of Russian
writers and tsars.

This continued to develop until his death and included studies of
Pushkin, Tolstoy, Gogol and Chekhov, together with works on Catherine
the Great, Peter the Great, Alexander I and Ivan the Terrible.
Troyat’s biographies were major achievements, not least because they
brought to the attention of a broad French public an introduction to
Russian literary and political culture.

The historical material developed in Troyat’s biographies fed into a
series of long historical novels, mostly based in Russia, which
together constitute a fictional bio-graphy of the nation. Beginning
with his own experiences of exile, assimilation and the memories of
his parents, Troyat devoted a trilogy, Tant que la Terre Durera
(While the Earth Endures, 1947-50), to pre-revolutionary Russia, the
revolution and civil war, and the phenomenon of exile. Then, in its
pendant tetralogy, Les Semailles et les Moissons (The Seed and the
Fruit, 1953-58), he explored France from the same perspective – the
novels were made into a popular French television series of the same
name in 2001.

These long novel-cycles were followed by La Lumière des Justes (The
Light of the Just, 1959-63), Les Eygletière (The Eygletière Family,
1965-67), Les Héritiers de l’Avenir (The Inheritors of the Future,
1968-70) and Le Moscovite (1974-76). It could be argued that few
French writers have done so much to make historical Russia real to a
mass French readership.

However, as impressive as the short novels, novel cycles and
biographies are, it is probably in his short stories that Troyat
demonstrates the most originality and skill. Heavily influenced by
Gogol and by the German romantics, collections such as La Fosse
Commune (The Common Grave, 1939), Du Philanthrope à la Rouquine (From
the Philanthropist to the Redhead, 1945) and Le Geste d’Eve (The
Story of Eve, 1964) blend light social satire with a genuinely
disturbing sense of the fantastic and evil.

Troyat eventually abandoned his civil-service post in 1942 and
devoted himself full time to literature for the rest of his life. His
early achievement in combining critical recognition with commercial
success continued throughout his career: in the 1950s, he became one
of France’s first best-sellers, and in 1959, at the age of 47, he was
elected to the Académie Française.

His second wife predeceased him, and he is survived by a son from his
first marriage.

Henri Troyat (Lev Aslanovich Tarassov): born November 1st, 1911; died
March 4th, 2007

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
March 9 2007

Perincek: ‘I have not denied genocide because there was no genocide’

Friday , 09 March 2007

A Swiss court has convicted Turkish Labour Party leader Dogu Perincek
for rejecting the Armenian claims.

Marxist leader Dogu Perincek, 65, was on trial for remarks he made in
a public speech in Lausanne in 2005. He was given a suspended
sentence and fined $2,450 (£1,270).

The Swiss parliament has labelled the 1915 killings as genocide,
however it ignored that more than 520.000 Turkish villagers were
massacred by the Armenian nationalists. Turkey firmly rejects the
genocide allegation.

Perincek, the head of the Turkish Labour Party, had denied the
charges.

"I have not denied genocide because there was no genocide," he told
the court earlier this week.

Armenians say 1.5 million of their people were killed in a so-called
genocide by the Ottoman Turks during World War I, either through
systematic massacres or through starvation. However the Ottoman
documents show that the Armenian population at that time was less
than 1.5 million.

Turkey says there was no genocide. It acknowledges that many
Armenians died, but says the figure was below 400,000.

Twelve Turks prosecuted in Switzerland on similar charges in 2001
were acquitted.

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
March 9 2007

Turkish Party Leader Fined Because He did not Accept the Armenian
Claims

Friday , 09 March 2007

A Swiss district court has found a Turkish politician, Dogu Perincek,
guilty because he just expressed his ideas about the Armenian
historical claims. Mr. Perincek is a party leader in Turkey and, like
millions of Turks, does not accept the Armenian ‘genocide’
accusations.

The court in Lausanne agreed with the prosecutor’s demand and handed
Perincek a suspended fine of SFr9,000 ($7,336) as well as a one-off
financial penalty of SFr3,000.

The court also ruled that Perincek would have to pay SFr1,000 to the
Swiss-Armenian Association as a symbolic gesture.

The politician, whose left-wing Turkish Workers’ Party has no seats
in the Turkish parliament, was brought to court after calling the
genocide "an international lie" during a public speech in Lausanne in
July 2005.

TURKISH PROF.S HAVE TO ACCEPT WHAT ARMENIANS SAY IN SWITZERLAND

Swiss prosecutor Andrej Gnehm, who has opened up a case against the
President of the Turkish History Society, Professor Yusuf Halacoglu,
has said last year "Let him come and testify. If he doesn’t, the
moment Professor Halacoglu steps into Switzerland, we will arrest
him".

Though the Swiss Ambassador in Ankara, Walter Gyger, said that no
such arrest would be made, Prosecutor Gnehm has repeated the intent
to arrest Halacoglu if he should so much as set foot in Switzerland.

And Lausanne is the capital of canton Vaud, one of two Swiss cantons
along with Geneva where the parliaments have voted in recent years to
recognise the Armenian so-called genocide claims.

When the Armenians rioted against the Ottoman State and joined the
Russian occupying armies, the caos caused a civil war. As a result of
civil war and the war many Armenians, Kurds and Turks were killed.
More than 520.000 Turkish and Kurdish were massacred by the Armenian
nationalists during the First World War.

AKI, Italy
March 9 2007

TURKEY: MILITARY’S MEDIA ‘BLACK LIST’ PROMPTS PROBE

Istanbul, 9 March (AKI) – A revelation by a Turkish magazine of the
existence of a list that classified journalists on the basis of their
perceived attitude towards Turkey’s powerful military establishment
has prompted a judicial inquiry as well as widespread outrage in the
country’s media. The 17-page report listing journalists depending on
their alleged ‘pro-military’ or ‘anti-military’ bias was published on
Thursday by the magazine Nokta.

The Turkish military has not denied the existence of the document and
has launched a judicial probe to discover who leaked the ‘black list’
to the magazine.

The document, dated November 2006, was prepared by the Office of the
Chief of General Staff Public and Press Relations Bureau and is
entitled ‘A reassessment of accredited press and media organs’.

Journalists and media organisations that want to follow the
activities of the Office of the Chief of General Staff need to be
accredited by the office.

The document lists all the country’s mainstream national broadscast
and print media outlets and journalists, categorising them according
to their comments and reports on the Turkish military. It also
includes comments and recommendations on whether the media
accreditation handed out to individuals should be granted, denied or
revoked.

"The report is a shame for our democracy. It is a new obstacle for
freedom of expression and freedom of press," the main body
representing journalists in the country, the Turkish Journalists
Association, said in its response.

Umur Talu, a veteran columnist for the daily Sabah and a renowned
critic of the influence of the military in Turkey asked Friday why he
is described as "treacherous" on the list.

"Is it ‘normal’ for a 21-year-old junior officer to commit suicide in
his military unit because he was being humiliated? No, then why
should I be described as ‘treacherous’ for having reported on it,"
Talu asked in his column.

Other famous journalists and columnists that appear on the list in
the ‘anti-military’ category include Murat Belge, Mehmet Ali Birand
and Can Dundar. Murdered Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink and
his weekly Agos are not included in the document.

Another prominent journalist, Mehmet Altan from the Star daily, said
that while he was scandalised by the the existence of the list "there
is at least a group of high-ranking military officials who think that
this report is a serious mistake and that’s why they’ve leaked it."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other government officials
have not commented on the report.

Media outlets with more radical positions, such as the socialist and
Islamist newspapers and television stations are not given
accreditation to follow the Office of the Chief of General Staff and
hence do not are already not accredited to military’s media events
and are not included in the ‘black list.’

PanARMENIAN.Net

U.S. to give $6.5 million for conducting free and fair elections in Armenia
10.03.2007 13:27 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The American side through its Embassy in Armenia
assigned $6.5 million for conducting free and fair elections in this
country, Vice-President of `Millenium Challenges’ American Corporation
John Hjuko stated in Yerevan. He said, the Armenian authorities are
going to do everything in order to conduct the upcoming elections
democratically. `I’ve brought a clear message for the Armenian
authorities. It is necessary to deepen democracy in the republic and
the upcoming parliamentarian and presidential elections in Armenia
must fix a serious progress in the development of democracy considered
with previous elections,’ John Hjuko stated. He said, during his
meeting with leaders of the country Prime Minister and the NA Speaker
of Armenia promised him that the Armenian leadership will do
everything possible to hold free and fair elections in the country.

Speaking about cooperation between Armenia and the `Millenium
Challenges’ Corporation, John Hjuko stressed that his organization
insists on keeping three main parameters in those countries, which
claim to get financial means for realizing the projects of ‘Millenium
Challenges’. `Our priorities remain the same-development of democracy,
investments to `human resources’ and establishment of economic
freedoms,’ John Hjuko stated. Armenia received $225 million grant from
the American Corporation for developing her agriculture in the past,
`Interfax’ reports.

Parliamentary elections in Armenia will be held May 12 this
year. Registration of party lists and candidates will take place from
April 2 till April 7. The electoral campaign will launch soon after
this process and will last till May 10. The Armenian National Assembly
has 131 members.

The New Anatolian, Turkey
March 9 2007

Turkish PM Erdogan leaves for Turkish diaspora meeting

Friday , 09 March 2007

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is to leave for
Azerbaijan today to attend the "First Forum of World Azerbaijani and
Turkish Diaspora Organizations," which is to be held tomorrow.

The forum aims at forms and methods of cooperation of Turkish and
Azeri communities in Europe, the U.S. and Canada, Asia and Australia,
and Central and South America and also to note the main directions of
cooperation between Turkish diaspora groups.

State Committee for Azerbaijanis Living Abroad head Nazim Ibrahimov
told a press conference that a joint statement on Armenia’s
aggression against Azerbaijan and Armenians’ terror and genocide acts
against Azerbaijanis, as well as protests of countries recognizing
the false Armenian genocide allegations, are to be adopted in the
forum.

The forum also aims to discuss the Cyprus problem and the situation
of the Turkmens in northern Iraq. A Baku declaration is to be adopted
at the end of the forum.

Ibrahimov stated that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus (TRNC) President Mehmet Ali Talat will participate in the
forum.

Erdogan is to deliver the second opening speech after Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev at the forum. He is also expected to hold
several bilateral meetings during his stay in Baku.

Deep-rooted ties

"The world feels jealous of Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s sharing both
the grief and the happiness," Erdogan told the Azeri Press Agency
before his visit to Azerbaijan.

Asked to comment on the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, he
said that relations are growing in all spheres on the basis of
deep-rooted cultural brotherhood.

"One of the architects of these relations, the great leader Haydar
Aliyev, said Azerbaijan and Turkey are one nation in two independent
states. This slogan came true," Erdogan said.

Underlining that Azerbaijan’s energy wealth, fast developing economy,
and reforms for democracy and human rights are elevating it to its
deserved place, Erdogan said that implementation of
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum projects
shoulder-to-shoulder with Turkey’s’s brother Azerbaijan and neighbor
Georgia will be followed by the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad project.

Asked about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Erdogan said that Turkey
will not forsake this cause, adding "Turkey supports ending the
occupation, which is in violation of international law. With its
potential, Turkey is giving all possible support for Azerbaijan in
its fair fight."

Erdogan went on to say that if Armenia gives up its current policy
and takes a friendly stance, it will take a significant step toward
the normalization of relations with Turkey.

"It seems to me, this move would lead to the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and improving relations between Azerbaijan
and Armenia," Erdogan told the agency.

Stating that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines
and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars-Akhalkalaki railway project are building a
strategic bridge between Central Asia’s Turkic Republics, Azerbaijan
and Turkey, Erdogan said, "I have no doubt that all sides will show
the political will to develop relations on the basis of respect,
equality and mutual advantage."

PanARMENIAN.Net

Parliamentary elections have exclusive meaning for Armenia’s future
10.03.2007 14:07 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Earlier NA Speaker Tigran Torosyan accepted the
delegation at the head of John Huko, the Vice-President on operational
issues of the `Millenium Challenges’ Corporation, the RA NA Press
Office reports. John Huko is in Armenia for the first time. The goal
of his visit is first of all, to acquaint with the realization process
of `Millenium Challenges’ Corporation programs and those responsible
for it, and then – to hold direct and open conversation with Armenian
friends around the upcoming parliamentary elections. The
Vice-President of the American Corporation highly appreciated the
realized works, underlining that Armenia can be proud of program in
action and officials responsible for it. `Millenium Challenges’
program is not only a way to strengthen Armenian-American relations,
but also it is a chance to cut poverty and increase income in
Armenia. John Huko noted that `Millenium Challenges’ Corporation works
only with democratic countries; it uses 11 indexes for the level of
democracy, which are single for all 25 states included in the
framework of `Millenium Challenges’. The sides stressed the importance
of conducting the upcoming parliamentary elections in accordance with
democratic standards. Otherwise of `Millenium Challenges’ programs
will be put under question in Armenia. He expressed hope that
parliamentary election in May will fix positive steps considered with
elections in the past, providing succession of the program.

Tigran Torosyan stressed the importance to realize programs of
`Millenium Challenges’. He also thanked for its creation and first
steps in realization process. Torosyan underlined the importance to
hold parliamentary elections properly, first of all for the sake of
Armenia’s future and development of reforms. The RA NA Speaker also
noted that conducting elections in accordance with democratic norms is
so important, that the continuation of `Millenium Challenges’ program
is incomparable near it and cannot be viewed as a stimulus for
Armenia. Of course, he said, democracy in Armenia has not reached its
perfection, but tendentious estimations, which turn everything upside
down, are not acceptable.

Touching upon the parliamentary elections, T. Torosyan stressed that
they really have exclusive importance for Armenia’s future and
continuation of reforms: also after elections provisions concerning
political system in the result of constitutional reforms will be put
in force.

Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
March 9 2007

Turkish PM Erdogan: World jealous of Azerbaijan and Turkey’s sharing
grief and joy

Friday , 09 March 2007

Turkish Prime Minister Recap Tayyip Erdogan interviewed by Azeri news
source APA:

– How do you evaluate the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan?
What about the reality of the ‘one nation, two countries?’

Relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are growing in all spheres on
the basis of deep-rooted and culture-pushed brotherhood. One of the
architects of these relations, the great leader Heydar Aliyev said
Azerbaijan and Turkey are one nation in two independent states. This
slogan came true. The world feels jealous of Azerbaijan and Turkey’s
sharing both the grief and the happiness.

The two countries are enjoying high-level political, economic,
military, cultural, commercial and other relations. The mutual
confidence and joint activities strengthened and consolidated our
relations and we created a healthy foundation for this cooperation.
We observe that Azerbaijan’s energy wealth, fast developing economy,
effective reforms in democracy and human rights elevate it to its
deserved summit. Implementation of Baku-Tbilissi-Ceyhan and
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum projects shoulder-to-shoulder with Brother
Azerbaijan and Neighbor Georgia will be followed by execution of
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad project. Azerbaijan is very determined
towards this issue.

Turkey have to date favored Azerbaijani people in sad and happy days
and will do its utmost afterwards.

– Armenia continues to occupy 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory.
Stipulating that Armenia should withdraw from Azerbaijan’s lands and
some one million of displaced Azeri people should return to their
native land, Turkey said it would have relations with Armenia after
that. Armenia’s giving up baseless ‘genocide’ and territory claim is
one of the stipulations Turkey made. If Armenia gives up the false
claims, can Turkey close eyes to occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands and
Karabakh conflict?

You know what stance Turkey has taken on Armenia’s aggression against
Nagorno Karabakh and 7 neighboring regions. Within its potential,
Turkey is giving all possible support for Azerbaijan in its fair
fight. Turkey supports termination of the occupation violating the
international laws. We will not leave Azerbaijan alone.

If Armenia gives up its current policy and takes a friendly stance,
it will take a significant step toward the normalization of the
relation. It seems to me, this move will lead to the settlement of
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and improve relations between
Azerbaijan and Armenia.

– There are cool relations between Turkey and the European Union?

Is it possible that the attempt to develop all-round relations with
the Turk republics becomes the priority? In this case, how real is it
to create Turk Common Market?

First of all, I would say the relations between Turkey and the
European Union are not alternative or rival to the ties between
Turkey and other Turkic states.

We enjoy historical, ethnic and cultural relations with Turkic
states, and Asian geography has always been one of the priorities in
Turkey’s foreign policy. Turkey was the first to recognize the
independence of Azerbaijan and Turkic states in Central Asia and has
done its best to backed strengthening of their independence,
sovereignty, territorial integrity, political-economic integration
into the international arena, as well as their political, economic
and military infrastructure.

Summit of Heads of Turkish speaking countries is the platform
bringing together the Turkish countries. The last summit held on
November 17, 2006 in Antalya was the indicator of the importance
Turkish speaking countries attach to the solidarity ad mutual
understanding.

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines and
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars-Akhalkalaki railway project are building up
strategic bridge between Central Asia’s Turk Republics, Azerbaijan
and Turkey.

These countries that celebrate the 15th anniversary of their
independence have become the members of international community and
took their merit places in the world. Our cooperation covered all the
levels of our societies within these 15 years. I have no doubt that
all sides show political will to develop the relations on the basis
of respect, equality and common advantage.
APA