ANKARA WANTS A PEACEFUL SOLUTION TO KARABAGH CONFLICT

ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS: Wrapping up his one-day working visit to Ankara on Monday, Azerbaijan’s prime minister Ilham Aliyev said he was fully satisfied with its results. Speaking at a news conference Ilham Aliyev and his Turkish opposite number Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to further boost relations between the two brother nations.

The younger Aliyev, who was appointed prime minister by his ailing 80-year old father Heydar Aliyev in late August, met in Ankara also with Turkey’s President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to seek Turkey’s support in October 15 presidential election.

The Turkish Daily News, published in Istanbul, said the talks were also on Turkish-Azeri relations. According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Turkey is more interested in the maintenance of stability in Azerbaijan than in giving its support to any of 12 candidates, nominated for presidency.

Turkish Daily News quoted Sinan Ogan, a Caucasus Region specialist from the Center for Eurasian Studies as saying that “Turkey’s clear support for Aliyev increases his votes by twenty percent… Until now, Turkey has kept an equal distance from all candidates. Turkey does not want turbulence in the oil-rich country.”

The strategic Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline project was also high on the agenda during the talks. Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler took part in Aliyev’s talks with the Turkish president and foreign minister. After Aliyev, Ankara will also host Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Vilayet Guliyev on Thursday who will hold talks with Turkish officials for two days.

The long-standing conflict with Armenia over Nagorno Karabagh was also discussed in Ankara. Prime minister Erdogan reportedly expressed Turkey’s concern over the unresolved confrontation and confirmed Turkey’s desire to solve it peacefully.

It was Aliyev’s first visit to Turkey since he was named premier last month in a move seen by the opposition as an attempt by the ailing 80-year-old president Heydar Aliyev to hand over power to his son in the October 15 presidential elections. Both Aliyevs are candidates in those elections.