Gul signals new, active role in solving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

SELCAN HACAOGLU

The Associated Press

10 January 2004

BAKU – Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul signaled Friday that Turkey would play a more active role in finding a peaceful solution to Azerbaijan’s dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, one of the smoldering problems of the Caucasus region.

Turkey had refrained from pushing for a solution during the reign of Azerbaijan’s late president, Haidar Aliyev, who died last month. Aliyev’s son Ilham was elected president in October, and Turkey now sees an opportunity to exert its influence.

Gul arrived in Baku on Friday on the first official Turkish visit to the oil-rich nation since the younger Aliyev took office.

Turkey has long backed Azerbaijan in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan. Turkey now wants the dispute to be settled as soon as possible in line with U.S. policy aimed at promoting stability in the region.

“We will discuss what we can do to remove obstacles, primarily the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, impeding stability in the southern Caucasus,” Gul told reporters before his departure from Ankara.

Gul was scheduled to meet with Aliyev, Parliament Speaker Murtuz Alasgarov, Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, Deputy Premier Abid Sharifov and Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev. He will also meet with Azerbaijani and Turkish businessmen before traveling to Iran on Saturday.

Gul was expected to stress that Turkey wants a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He told reporters that the solution should include respect for territorial integrity.

During a meeting with Turkish land forces commander Aytac Yalman shortly after his election as president in October, Ilham Aliyev indicated Azerbaijan might turn to military pressure.

“I am sure that strengthening the Azerbaijani army can have a positive influence on the negotiating process on resolving the Karabakh problem,” Aliyev said.

Armenian-backed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh drove Azerbaijani troops out in 1994 after a war that killed 30,000 people and left about 1 million homeless. A cease-fire was declared, but no final resolution of the region’s status has been reached.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has facilitated meetings between Azerbaijan and Armenia for several years without results.

Turkey officially maintains a trade embargo against Armenia and has said it will not lift it until Armenia resolves its dispute with Azerbaijan, but over the past few years Turkey and Armenia have expanded business contacts.

Asked on the plane on his way to Baku, whether Turkey was considering reopening its border with landlocked Armenia, Gul said: “There is no such thing for now.”

Gul, however, signaled that resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would lead to a normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia. Turkey could benefit greatly from that, since easing conflict with its neighbors could strengthen its candidacy for the European Union. Turkey hopes to start membership negotiations by the end of this year.

“The resolution of the problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan in line with respect to territorial integrity would certainly have a positive effect on Turkish-Armenian relations,” Gul said.