Armenian talks must run parallel with Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkish FM

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Babacan attended a meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, or BSEC, in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, in a trip that coincides with stepped up efforts between Turkey and Armenia to resolve long-running disputes.    

"We want a comprehensive solution and full normalization," Babacan was quoted by broadcaster CNNTurk as telling reporters on board his plane when asked about the ongoing talks with Armenia.

He added that the road to a solution must definitely run parallel with talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Ankara and Yerevan have no diplomatic relations. Their border was closed in 1993 over Armenia's invasion of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and over pressure exerted on the international community, with the backing of the diaspora, to recognize the so-called "genocide" claims instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations.

Turkey and Armenia have however been engaged in a normalization process, including the reopening of the border, since Gul paid a landmark visit to Armenia last year to watch a World Cup qualifying football match between the countries’ national teams.  

Closed door meeting with Sargsyan, Nalbandian

Babacan held behind closed-door talks in a quartet meeting with Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan, Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the summit, Anatolian Agency said.

The meeting was not pre-planned, the reported added; however, the Turkish foreign minister had earlier told reporters he would be willing to hold bilateral talks with Armenian officials in Yerevan if a request is made.

Babacan also separately met Lavrov and Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad Guliev on the sidelines of the BSEC meeting.

The Turkish foreign minister demanded Lavrov urge Armenia to step up its efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, broadcaster NTV said.

The issues of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the possibility of the reopening of Turkey-Armenia border were not discussed during the meeting between Babacan and Guliev, news agencies said.

The Turkish foreign minister departed from Yerevan later in the day. 

Armenia: Border may soon be opened

Following Thursday's summit, which gathers representatives from 12 regional countries seeking closer economic ties, Nalbandian told a joint press conference with Guliev that he believed Armenia's border gates with Turkey might soon be opened.

"The negotiations are ongoing and progress has been registered," Nalbandian said. 

"We think we can really get close and resolve this question in the near future," he added.

He also said Armenia and Turkey did not plan to sign any document within the framework of BSEC Foreign Ministers' meeting, according to reports. The Wall Street Journal has however reported that Turkey and Armenia would sign a document and that the borders would be reopened on April 16.

Azerbaijan wants its concerns addressed

Guliev, representing Azerbaijan at the 20th meeting of the BSEC, told the conference that the prospect of the reopening the Turkey-Armenia border was an issue to be discussed between Yerevan and Ankara. 

But he added Baku wants the warming Turkey-Armenia ties to run parallel with Azerbaijan-Armenia relations.

Guliev also said he believed Turkey would address Azerbaijan's concerns and protect its interests.  

Azerbaijan, which has strong cultural and historic ties with Turkey, has expressed uneasiness over the prospect of the border being reopened. It says opening the border before the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the country’s occupied territories would run counter to its national interests. Some media reports suggested that Azerbaijan, a supplier of oil and gas to Europe, might even halt the sale of natural gas to Turkey. 

In a bid to soothe Azerbaijan’s concerns, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said the deadlock over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave must be resolved before Turkey and Armenia strike a deal.

Western diplomats are concerned that Azerbaijan might turn its back on European hopes that it will export some of its gas through Turkey, and instead send most of its gas through Russia.

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev was in Moscow on Thursday, three weeks after his country’s state energy firm, Socar, signed a memorandum with Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom to begin talks for the purchase of Azeri gas to export to Europe from 2010.