President Gul says Turkey-Armenia accord would benefit Azerbaijan

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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The Turkish president told a joint press conference with his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus in Prague that the reconciliation efforts are not against Azerbaijan.   

The initiatives were also for the benefit of Turkey and Azerbaijan as well as for the establishment of stability in the entire Caucasus region, Gul said.

Baku is disturbed by Turkey's and Armenia's recent efforts toward reconciliation, which could lead to reopening their joint border.

Turkey closed the border in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, which is in conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan has urged Turkey, its close ally, to link reconciliation efforts with Armenia to the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the disputed region.

Turkey and Armenia, under Switzerland's mediation, agreed last week on a framework for normalizing relations.

NABUCCO PROJECT        
Gul also said he discussed energy issue with Klaus, adding that Turkey attached importance to the energy issue and was determined about the Nabucco project.

The Turkish president said he hopes that a memorandum of understanding would be signed between governments soon.

He said the main resources of the Nabucco project were the Caucasus, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, adding that they were working to determine whether those resources were sufficient.

Klaus was quoted by state-run Anatolian Agency as telling the conference that his country supported Turkey's EU membership process.

The Czech president said he showed his political will for Turkey's participation in the integration process with the EU.