US, Turkish, Azeri leaders engage in phone talks over Nagorno-Karabakh

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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U.S. President Barack Obama telephoned his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev Tuesday and expressed support for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Obama also told Aliyev that the United States is committed to a strong relationship with Azerbaijan, the White House said.

Aliyev's office said Wednesday Obama and the Azeri leader "had a frank conversation during which they expressed satisfaction at the successful development of Azerbaijan-U.S. relations".

"Barack Obama informed the Azerbaijani leader about steps taken by the United States concerning Turkey-Armenia relations. President Ilham Aliyev brought the Azerbaijani states position on the issue to the U.S. president’s attention," Aliyev's administration said in a statement. 

Turkish President Abdullah Gul also called Aliyev to brief the Azeri leader on his discussion with Obama about the latest developments on Turkey-Armenia relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the U.S. president's visit to his country, TV channels reported Wednesday.

Addressing Turkish lawmakers Monday, the U.S. president praised Ankara for its role in helping to work toward a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which he said "has continued for far too long."

He had also praised "courageous" contacts between Turkish and Armenian leaders aimed at reconciliation and said Turkey should reopen the border it closed in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan during its conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Azeri officials have expressed concern over the prospect of the border being reopened and some media reports suggested that Baku might even go one step further in halting the sale of natural gas to Turkey. Azerbaijan has said that opening the border before the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the country’s occupied territories would run counter to its national interests.

Aliyev also refused to attend an international meeting in Istanbul earlier this week, a move that can be seen as a protest against the prospect of the border being opened between Armenia and Turkey. 

Normalization talks continue
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Tuesday that Ankara and Yerevan have been in talks for months to normalize relations and that the two countries have come a long way.

"We are working on a comprehensive solution, and our talks are going well. We have made significant progress so far, and both parties have declared satisfaction over the process several times," Babacan was quoted by the Anatolian Agency as telling reporters at a news conference after the second gathering of the Alliance of Civilizations in Istanbul.

"I think third-party countries should act with sensitivity during this ongoing process," he said.

Babacan said Azerbaijan and Armenia are also holding talks to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding his country’s aim was peace, stability and prosperity around Turkey.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, and their border has been closed for more than a decade over Armenia's invasion of territory that accounts for 20 percent of Azerbaijan – a frozen conflict legacy of the Soviet Union known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

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