ANKARA (Today’s Zaman)—Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday evening he is planning to visit Baku in the near future for talks on Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Erdogan disclosed his plans after concluding debates on a constitutional reform package during an informal press briefing with reporters on Tuesday night outside Parliament’s General Assembly Hall.
The prime minister didn’t elaborate on a date for his visit, yet it is expected to be after debates and voting over the reform package are finalized, which means within days. ErdoGan is already scheduled to pay an official visit to Athens on May 14-15, and sources said a Baku visit is likely to take place just after the Greece visit, probably on May 17. However, the same sources highlighted that no exact date has been decided.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, recently voiced his country’s insistence on parallel progress for the normalization of relations with Armenia and the Karabakh peace process.
Delivering a keynote lecture on Saturday at the University of Oxford’s St. Antony’s College, Davutoglu discussed the recent course of affairs regarding the stalled normalization process between Armenia and Turkey.
“For sure, we want to open our border because we want full integration with our neighbors. However, opening the Turkey-Armenia border will not be sufficient; we want to open the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as well so that regional stability can be maintained,” Davutoglu said.
Last October, Davutoglu and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, signed two protocols for restoring diplomatic ties between their countries and re-opening the two countries’ joint border. The agreements, however, have stalled and remain ungratified. Armenia has temporarily frozen the process citing Turkey’s growing unwillingness to ratify the protocols without preconditions.
Look at this clown wave his fist in every picture, how appropriately “Hitler-esque” of him. Just another buffoon from Turkey, he is going to fly to Greece and peddle Turkey’s continued 20+ year occuption of Cyprus via their initial hostile invasion back in the 1970s.
Then this idiot actually has the nerve to fly to Baku days later and spew more garbage about Astzakh (Formerly Known as Nagorno Karabagh) being handed back to Azerbaijan under the false pretense of “Armenian occupation” when in fact it was oppressive Azeris that were thrown out by the local, native, indeginious Armenian population in a war of independence/right to self-determination.
Keep pushing us pigs, we stuffed your faces in the dirt 20 years ago on the fields of Arstakh and Keljabar, next time we’ll break bread and wine in victory on the piers of Baku. 3 million Armenians in Armenia, and 8 million Diasporans are waiting with our itchy trigger fingers for you to try oppressing Armenians of Asrtakh (Formerly known as Nagorno-Karabagh) again. Not to mention 100,000 ready, able bodied, Arstakh freedom fighters that have skin made of steel and fire pumping through their veins.
Remember how Monte Melkonian turned your General’s Dacha into a Arstakh Hospital for Armenians? Next time we’ll turn Aliyev’s home into a garbage dump and Baku’s parliment building into sewage dispoal site.
Norin: Well said,I am proud of you. To further the truthful history.In WW 1, the turkeys were on the side of the Axis,Germany/Austria.They were soundly beaten,by a equal force of the Allies;they quit and joined the allies,in street language,we called it turn yellow. When the young turks took over,to abolish the stain of kemal Attaturkey adm.They turned their anger and feeling of defeat on the poor Armenians; unarmed women,children,old people.Their BIG LIE was the Armenians were fighting with the Russians.They were conscripted,forced labor,They were not given guns,turks knew,and rightly so.In the Russian Army most of them were in labor battalions,it is called non combatants.The turks used them because their to lazy to work.Lastly,they revel the victory at the Dardenelles.The real story is a stupid British general tried to attack the turks on the hilltop,commanded by German Officers,that a troop of Boy Scouts could defend.For years they been hiding behind the yellow stain,and trying to bully everyone.If it comes to a fair fight,will the stain come to fore.You bet it will.Thats their Mongol Horde Heritage..
One thing I am terribly worried about is the talk about recognizing of the existing borders. I really hope it does not mean that Armenia does not have a chance to take back the land we lost after the Armenian genocide if we open the boarders.
Because if Turkey recognizes the genocide they would have to give back the stolen land.
Without any preconditions means only the opening of the boarder for further discussion and nothing else.
I have understand this right.. right ??
As long as Turkey is supporting Azerbaijan, the EU doors will remain closed. Ankara knows it! Eventually, it will tire of Azeri whining and complaining and do something about Armeno Turkish border. We should be patient!
Hamik: you might be right. But any government in Ankara, as well as Erdogan’s government, knows that supporting Azerbaijan and related Turkic identity is more beneficial to it’s political stand than supporting EU integration. In fact, more Turkish citizens support Azerbaijan than those who support western friendship.