BAKU (Today.az)—The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was “a main issue” in Monday’s talks between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Barack Obama, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted by the Azeri Today.az news portal as saying in an interview on Tuesday.
“This [Nagorno-Karabakh] was a main issue. Turkey is very interested in explaining to the Obama administration the sensitive points of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Davutoglu said.
Davutoglu said he spoke with Azeri diplomats on the matter before Erdogan made his trip to Washington. “We communicate with them very often,” he said, referring to Ankara’s ongoing efforts to leverage its negotiations with Armenia to secure a resolution of the Karabakh favoring Azerbaijan. “We want to tell the Azerbaijani people – you can be sure we are with you.”
“I have repeatedly stated and I want to reiterate that the process of normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations has been and will be a catalyst to keeping the Nagorno-Karabakh process in the international arena. Our attempts were directed at this,” Davutoglu said.
“It is important for Turkey that the Obama Administration focuses its attention on this topic,” Erdogan said. “We have seen strong interest in Washington in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
Davutoglu said Erdogan told Obama that Turkey cannot normalize relations with Armenia and “achieve lasting peace in the region without resolving the Karabakh issue first.”
Davutoglu also downplayed a recent spat between Turkey and Azerbaijan over the price of natural gas, saying it was not a divisive issue between the two countries, which “speak with one voice on a number of issues.”
“I think the problem between our countries relating to transit prices is solvable. We soon will find a solution,” he said. “Our delegation is discussing this topic with Azerbaijan today.”
Of course, Nagorno-Karabakh is a very sensitive issue. The Obama administration is also very sensitive.
As it was stated many times in many ways, any single molecule of Artsakh – both organic and inorganic, has a tag “belons to Armenians”.
what is the point of this Today.az article on asbarez webpage?they news are filled with lies and propaganda against Armenians and Armenia.
Cyprus should be the main issue. Withdrawel of Turkish troops from Northern Cyprus should precede any agreements between Turkey and Armenia.
Two leading international human rights groups – Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, gave U.S. President Barack Obama mixed reviews on his human rights record on Wednesday, a day before he is slated to accept the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Thursday.
Contact Nobel Piece Prize Committee asking to change their mind. Obama does it all the time.