World Bulletin, Turkey
Sept 3 2014

Erdogan says Nagorno-Karabakh peace is priority

Speaking as he sets out on an official visit to Azerbaijan, President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey could contribute to resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

World Bulletin / News Desk

Peace and stability in the South Caucasus will be a cornerstone of
Turkish foreign policy, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on
Tuesday.

Any resolution of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over
Nagorno-Karabakh should take into account Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity, he added as he set off for an official visit to
Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

Azerbaijan and Armenia, two former Soviet republics, fought a war over
the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh between 1988 and 1994.

Referring to a possible permanent solution, Erdogan said: “We will
evaluate the possible contributions of Turkey within that scope.”

Erdogan also praised the level of cooperation between Turkey and
Azerbaijan, in particular the gas and oil pipelines crossing the
countries that not only “contribute to cooperation between Turkey and
Azerbaijan but also to regional prosperity and stability.”

On Thursday Erdogan will attend a NATO summit in Wales, which he said
should focus on the crisis in Iraq and Syria.

“The developments, especially in Syria and Iraq and in other parts of
the Middle East, show that this fire will not die down by itself,” he
added. “To stop it from spilling over into a larger area definitely
requires us to build a shared agenda.”

Touching on the crisis in Ukraine and tension between the West and
Russia, Erdogan went on: “A polarization resembling the Cold War or a
new frozen conflict will not be in the interests of anyone.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress