Mustafa Aydin: normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations not far awayMay 30, 2008 - 16:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's policy toward the South Caucasus states bases on two principles: territorial integrity and neighborly relations with all states of the region, a Turkish expert said."The Turkish government is willing to enjoy neighborly relations not only with Georgia and Azerbaijan but also with Armenia," head of the department of international relations at University of Economic and Technology, prof. Mustafa Aydin said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net The February 19 presidential election in Armenia inspires hope for gradual normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, according to him. "The Turkish Foreign Ministry eyes the Armenian diplomacy as 'very soviet', old-fashioned and clumsy. Our diplomacy, on the contrary, is west-oriented and supposes joint efforts for normalization of relations. Reconstruction of Holy Church in Akhtamar is a serious step on the part of the Turkish government. It's Armenia's turn now," prof. Aydin said. "One of such steps could be softening of position on Nagorno Karabakh. Ankara understands that much should be done for resolution of the conflict but initially Armenia could withdraw troops from 7 Azerbaijani regions. In this case, Turkey could open the border, which was closed in 1993. Actually, Turkey's MFA is ready to establish relations with Armenia but pressure is too strong. Anyway, I think that normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations is not far away," he said. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |