EX-FOREIGN MINISTER OF TURKEY: PROSPECTS FOR QUICK RECONCILIATION BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY DISAPPEARED AFTER ERDOGAN’S STATEMENTS
ArmInfo
2009-05-16 11:58:00
ArmInfo. "I knew that normalization of relations with Armenia was
somehow linked to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, but I thought
that link was with the withdrawal of Armenia from the six regions
adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, not Nagorno-Karabakh itself," Ilter
Turkmen, a former foreign minister, told Today’s Zaman. "But what
the prime minister says now is different. He says normalization is
not possible unless Armenia withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh, which
basically means there will be no normalization before a settlement
to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh."
Armenia wants a referendum to determine the status of Nagorno-Karabakh,
but Azerbaijan rejects this proposal, saying the dispute should be
resolved on the basis of the principle of Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity as it was prior to 1992. "This is a very complicated
problem, as complicated as Cyprus, and perhaps even worse," Turkmen
said. Neither Sarksyan nor Nalbandyan said whether Erdogan’s statement
would block normalization efforts with Turkey, but prospects for
a quick reconciliation have disappeared after Erdogan’s remarks,
according to experts. "It seems that in the foreseeable future we
will not be able to normalize relations with Armenia and we will lose
the momentum that was opened up by the president’s visit to Armenia,"
Turkmen said.