TURKISH FM DAVUTOGLU ATTENDS BSEC IN YEREVAN
Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Dec 12 2013
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoðlu is paying a one-day visit to Yerevan
today to attend the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation
(BSEC) meeting, making him the highest-level Turkish official to
visit Armenia since 2009.
Although a bilateral meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian was not scheduled as of late afternoon on Dec. 11, Turkish
diplomats underlined that they would have no hesitation in holding
talks with their host if they received an invitation from Armenia.
“Former Foreign Minister Ali Babacan visited Yerevan in 2009 to attend
the BSEC summit. And he held a meeting with his Armenian counterpart
then,” Turkish diplomats recalled.
At the time, Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols to normalize
their relations and open the sealed borders, but neither succeeded
in accomplishing the process for different reasons. Turkey’s current
position vis-a-vis Armenia is to wait for its eastern neighbor to
resolve its problems with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Armenia’s potential and partial withdrawal from occupied
Nagorno-Karabakh would accelerate the normalization process of Armenia
with both Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Meetings between Azeri and Armenian officials over the last two
months boosted hopes for a meaningful negotiation process to restart
between the two countries. This latest set of Azeri-Armenian talks
made Davutoðlu more willing to attend the BSEC meeting in Yerevan.
The Turkish foreign minister’s decision to go to Yerevan was welcomed
by the United States and leading European countries. According to
information gathered by the Hurriyet Daily News, European and American
diplomats deemed Davutoðlu’s visit and potential bilateral meeting
a very promising move. They also advised Armenia “not to miss the
opportunity” created by the visit.
However, Turkish diplomats did note that this visit should not be
regarded as a new opening toward Armenia.
“We are emphasizing and reiterating our call for a stable, prosperous
South Caucasus. We always underline that we have no prejudices towards
Armenia,” the diplomats said.
They underlined that Davutoðlu’s attendence at the BSEC meeting was
another indication of Turkey’s intention to build regional cooperation,
and Armenia was certainly a part of this sphere.
December/12/2013
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress