ON TURKEY’S UNHEARD KNOCK AT OSCE MG DOOR
Ivan Gharibyan
news.am
May 3 2010
Armenia
The Azerbaijani authorities keep on knocking at the OSCE Minsk Group’s
door, doing so on behalf of their "big brother," Turkey, which has
been dreaming of playing a key role in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace
process. But the attempts of Baku and Ankara have so far failed.
What is the matter? Why has Turkey so far failed to even draw closer
to achieving its dream – becoming the fourth Co-Chair of the OSCE
Minsk Group? First, official Yerevan’s firm position rules out such
a possibility. Turkey is overtly supporting one of the conflicting
parties so it cannot lay any claims to a leading role of mediator.
The Armenian side’s firm position is supported by no less important
factor, which, however, is not officially announced: at least
two of the three OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Russia and France,
by definition cannot welcome Turkey gaining stronger positions in
the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Russia, after it has regained
control of Ukraine, is not going to "let Turkey into the Caucasus",
especially in the context of its strong influence on Azerbaijan. As
regards France, its position is even clearer. That state is openly
declaring against Turkey’s admission to the European Union (EU) –
even in the remote future. In this context, it is obvious that Paris
would strongly object to the possibility of Ankara’s playing a more
active role in the OSCE Minsk Group.
All the aforementioned facts rule out any possibility of a fourth
OSCE MG Co-Chair appearing. Ankara has found itself in stalemate
also because of the actual failure of the first stage of the
Armenian-Turkish reconciliation. Contrary to common sense and the
region’s interests, Turkey has failed to get rid of the role of hostage
to its "small brother" Azerbaijan, pursuing the whims of the hysterical
Aliyev clan. The past month has clearly shown the geopolitical players
Turkey’s inability to implement a policy independent of Baku, which has
proved the inadvisability of its "leading role" in the Nagorno-Karabakh
peace process even to "the most doubting."
Turkey keeps on knocking at the OSCE Minsk Group’s door. "Ubiquitous"
Azerbaijan often does it on Turkey’s behalf – but all to no purpose.