AZERBAIJAN SAYS TURKEY’S SUPPORT OVER NAGORNO-KARABAKH IS VITAL
Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 19 2013
19 November 2013 /LAMÄ°YA ADÄ°LGIZI, YALOVA
The show of support by Turkey for Azerbaijan in the settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has been in a stalemate for
more than two decades, is extremely important as it is critical for
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, an Azerbaijani analyst has claimed.
“There are several countries in the world that have recognized Armenia
as an aggressor state but all those recognitions are on paper or
just statements. But there is only one country that is punishing the
aggressor state in real terms. Turkey closed its borders with Armenia
years ago and has stated that it will not open its borders until the
occupation of Azerbaijani territories is terminated. This is very
important to us [Azerbaijanis] and for that, Azerbaijan is grateful
to Turkey,” Farhad Mammadov, the director of the Azerbaijani Center
for Strategic Studies (SAM), said in Yalova province on Monday.
Addressing students and professors of Yalova University under the
scope of “Azerbaijan Week,” which kicked off on Monday, Mammadov
noted that the joint politics led by both Turkey and Azerbaijan are
“sensible and are a vital part of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.”
Turkey and Azerbaijan have for the past three years been organizing
joint academic activities, dedicating a year to one of the two
countries. “Azerbaijan Week” comes after “Turkey Week” was held
in Azerbaijan last year, where the strategic research centers of
both countries jointly organized a series of academic events in the
Azerbaijani provinces of Ganja, Lenkeran, Aghdam and the capital city
of Baku to raise awareness in both countries. Conducted by the Turkish
Center for Strategic Research (SAM) in cooperation with the Azerbaijan
President’s Office’s SAM this year, academics from both countries
came together to increase public awareness on Azerbaijan, its role
in the region, bilateral relations between the two nations and the
significance that Turkey attaches to its brother country Azerbaijan.
Also talking about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadov stated
that there are very few countries in the world that have been occupied
and there are even fewer countries whose territories’ occupation was
confirmed by UN Security Council resolutions. “Azerbaijan is one of
them. It has been 20 years since four resolutions were accepted by the
UN Security Council calling on Armenia to withdraw its troops from the
occupied Azerbaijani territories but they have yet to be implemented,”
Mammadov stated, calling on the international community not to remain
silent over the injustice of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed enclave between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Armenia occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory in the early
1990s, including Nagorno-Karabakh, primarily populated by Armenians,
and seven adjacent provinces. Diplomatic efforts to find an enduring
solution to the conflict have failed for the past 20 years but
Azerbaijan vows to get its territories back by force, if necessary.
Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan. The issue of Armenia’s withdrawal from the area surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh is of importance to Ankara, which has frequently
signaled that this step would ease the way for the reopening of its
border with Armenia.
Commenting on Turkey’s initiative to reopen borders with Armenia which
remain closed in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, Araz Aslanlı,
the head of the Caucasian Center for International Relations and
Strategic Studies (QAFSAM), said Azerbaijan’s expectations from
Turkey relating to the borders are not based on emotions but rest
on a rationality linked to the kinship and relations between the two
nations. The analyst urged both sides, particularly Turkey, to wait for
the right time as hurrying the process could be a damaging blow to the
joint efforts of both Turkey and Azerbaijan thus far to isolate Armenia
in the region — a move that is considered to push Armenia toward a
long-awaited peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“Opening the borders should be left to the right time as the occupation
of Azerbaijani territories should not be dismissed,” Aslanlı said.
Two protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia in Zurich on Oct.10,
2009, to normalize relations and reopen their closed borders were
not implemented after opposition from Azerbaijan.
Ferhat Pirincci, an advisor at SAM under the Turkish Foreign Ministry,
noted that soccer diplomacy, the first step of the Turkish government
on the path to normalizing frozen diplomatic relations with Armenia,
and later the two protocols signed in Zurich were an alternative
attempt by Turkey to bring about a peaceful settlement to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which could not be solved for many years.
“This problem could not be solved by the [Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe] OSCE Minsk Group and alternative mechanisms are
needed to settle the conflict. In this context, Turkey’s main aim is
to resort to alternative ways to finalize the peaceful settlement of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and thus to contribute to the political
stability in the region, one of the main lines of Turkish foreign
policy,” Pirincci said in his speech at Yalova University.
Pirincci also said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not just a trivial
issue as Turkey places special importance on an urgent settlement.
“Turkey is a side in this conflict and will always move along with
Azerbaijan towards the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Without Azerbaijan, no single step can be put forward and last week
this view was once more stated in Ankara. [Azerbaijani President]
Ilham Aliyev also mentioned this during his conference,” Pirincci said.
Last week Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again
reiterated at a joint press conference with President Aliyev Ankara’s
commitment to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, saying that
“Karabakh is not just Azerbaijan’s problem, but also Turkey’s problem.”