ANKARA (Combined Sources)–Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday the Turkish
government is still “resolute” in its drive to normalize
relations with neighboring Armenia, but reiterated that the
Turkish-Armenia border will not open until the Karabakh conflict
is solved in Azerbaijan’s favor, the Anatolia news agency
reported.
The top Turkish diplomat told a press conference after his
meeting with visiting Bosnian Foreign Minister Sven Alkalaj that
the Turkish government is hopeful about the normalization of
ties with Armenia.
“We believe that the most extensive normalization would be seen
in our region in the coming period,” Davutoglu said. “But at the
same time, it is important for us to see the same determination
from the international community and especially from Armenia on
the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
Davutoglu’s remarks come a day after Armenia’s President, Serzh
Sarkisian, insisted that Ankara must reopen the Turkish-Armenian
border and make concrete steps toward ending its blockade of
Armenia before the stalled negotiations can continue. Sarkisian
was set to travel to Turkey in October to attend a
Turkish-Armenian soccer match, which would continue the so
called “soccer diplomacy” begun last October when Turkish
President Abdullah Gul travelled to Armenia in September 2008 to
watch 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier match
Turkish intransigence in the negotiations process has brought
the year-long US brokered talks between the two countries to a
standstill as Ankara seeks to convince international mediators
that a quick resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is
the key to saving Armenia-Turkey negotiations.
Speaking to the Turkish service of RFE/RL on Wednesday, Matthew
Bryza, the American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group mediating
the Karabakh conflict said he regretted that “the activeness we
witnessed in the Armenian-Turkish relations recently, is frozen
today,”adding that he believed the “the existence of the
Karabakh conflict exerts a negative influence on the
Armenian-Turkish relations.” |
