Envoy confident of unwavering Azerbaijani-Turkish fraternal ties

Azerbaijan`s Ambassador to Turkey, Faig Bagirov, says his country is aware of Turkey`s support in the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan`s ambassador to Turkey has expressed confidence in the strength of fraternal relations between his country and Turkey, maintaining that misunderstandings stemming from Turkey`s rapprochement process with joint neighbor Armenia are now a thing of the past.

“The friendship and fraternity between the two countries is unwavering,” Ambassador Faig Bagirov said in an interview with Today's Zaman. He added that some of the prickly issues between the two are in the past now, in an apparent reference to a strain in relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey following the signing of protocols by Armenia and Turkey on Oct. 10, 2009, which had been intended to normalize relations by restoring diplomatic ties and opening the border.

That rapprochement process came to a standstill after the two sides accused each other of modifying the texts of the protocols and Turkish leaders began to link progress in the normalization efforts to the progress of ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, who is a close ally and a key energy supplier for Turkey, opposes the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement unless Yerevan takes steps to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Bagirov said Azerbaijan is exerting efforts for a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, which is a grave problem for their country. “However, we aren`t seeing any positive developments,” Bagirov added, voicing pessimism over the current course of affairs regarding the dispute.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, has been striving to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for more than 17 years. On several occasions in last two years, Turkish leaders supported the Azerbaijani leadership`s stance concerning the performance of the Minsk Group, criticizing the inefficiency of its activities.

“We have always been aware of and have witnessed Turkey`s support in this matter. We highly value this support,” Bagirov said, noting that this has led to empowering Azerbaijan`s regional role through joint projects carried out with the participation of Georgia. “Armenia is a lonely country in the region,” he said, saying that the Armenian leadership`s stance was the main reason leading to obstacles in the rapprochement process with Turkey.

Contrary to his pessimism around a quick resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Bagirov sounded quite optimistic of the prospects of deepening bilateral cooperation between Baku and Ankara.

Speaking on future of bilateral relations between Ankara and Baku, Bagirov particularly highlighted the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway connection between Azerbaijan`s capital city of Baku and the eastern Turkish city of Kars, which is currently under construction.

“This project is very important as it will link Azerbaijan to Europe and Turkey to Central Asia,” Bagirov said, expressing hope that the railway would be operational by 2012.

The BTK railway is expected to transport 1.5 million passengers and 3 million tons of freight each year in its initial operation phase. Forecasts predict that by 2034, it will transport 3 million people and more than 16 million tons of goods per year. The total cost of the project is estimated at $500 million. Georgia will contribute $200 million, which it will receive from Azerbaijan in the form of a loan. The remaining cost will be covered by Turkey.

In September 2010, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed a framework agreement establishing a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council between the two countries -- with the former defining the deal as “a work uniting the hearts” of the peoples of the two neighboring countries.

Bagirov said the first technical meeting of the council at expert level will be held in Ankara later this month, and that the first prime ministerial level meeting of the council is expected to be held in Baku either in March or April.

Bagirov added that he believes both Azerbaijani and Turkish officials have the political will to finalize an agreement for the annulment of visa requirements between the two countries. He said Azerbaijan is continuing efforts to finalize domestic legal procedures for such an agreement and expected that the deal could be finalized “within 2011.”


/AzerTAc/