Istanbul conference: Azeris frustrated any discussion of relations with Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - On January 17 and 18, Istanbul hosted 'The Future of South Caucasus and its Neighbors' international conference which brought together experts from Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.



The event was initiated by the British Council and John Smith Memorial Trust.



"Participants of the event focused on inter-ethnic disputes, including the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and Russian-Georgian relations in the context of European security, the Russian-Ukrainian relations, Turkey's Caucasus platform and other regional issues," Tevan Poghosyan, executive director of the International Center for Human Development, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.



"Unfortunately, the Azeri delegation converted the discussion titled 'The Armenian-Azeri relations behind the Nagorno Karabakh conflict' into an argument, accusing Armenia of occupation of Azeri lands," he said, adding that the main message of the conference is encouragement of civil societies for establishment of dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts.



The Armenian-Turkish relations were also discussed. "Turkish experts emphasized that the two countries are close to establishment of normal relations but they seemed to be fettered by the presence of Azerbaijan's representatives," Mr. Poghosyan said.