Turkish paper claims agreement reached on Garabagh; officials rubbish report
Agreement has been reached on settling the
long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict,
a Turkish paper has claimed in a report that was dismissed by
officials of the three countries.
The alleged agreement was reached during the latest meetings held by Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan with his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts, influential Hurriyet newspaper reported.
Babacan held talks on Garabagh settlement with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich on Sunday and further with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on Monday.
Huriyyet said the conflicting sides had agreed four provisions.
Under the first one, Armenia is to return the Fizuli, Jabrayil, Gubadly, Zangilan and Aghdam districts it currently occupies to Azerbaijan at some point.
According to the second provision, Azerbaijanis ousted from their homes during military action in the early 1990s will return home.
The third provision stipulates that the tentative administration option will be applied to Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region currently under Armenian occupation, until the status of the region is determined. After the status is determined, Azerbaijan will regain its strategic Kalbajar district. In return, Azerbaijan will reopen its overland and air links with Armenia, according to the report.
The fourth provision indicates that international peacekeepers -- allegedly including representatives of the conflicting sides and mediating countries -- will be based on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. Turkey and Russia will not send in peacekeeping forces.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry’s press-service has refuted the report. Tigran Balayan, the ministry spokesman, said no talks on Garabagh conflict settlement had been carried out with Ankara’s participation, adding that peace talks were underway as before, with the mediatiation of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Ankara also dismissed Hurriyet’s report. The spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Burak Ozugergin, said in an interview with the Baku-based ANS TV channel that the country’s government had not developed any plans on Garabagh settlement.
"Naturally, we support a speedy solution of the Garabagh problem. We value the talks being held between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well. However, Turkey is not acting as a party in the conflict settlement. This problem has to be solved between the parties to the conflict proper. The Azerbaijani and Armenian sides are holding regular meetings, and there is no need for Turkey in this respect," Ozugergin said.
Commenting on the matter, Khazar Ibrahim, the spokesman for the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry, told ANS TV that the mentioned report was absolutely baseless.
"The newspaper’s report is nonsense. It is possible that some peacekeeping forces will be stationed on the contact line. But Azerbaijan has already stated on various levels that if this happens in the future, these forces cannot include representatives of neighboring and co-chairing countries."
Ibrahim did not rule out that the publication of such reports aims to sow a seed of discord between Turkey and Azerbaijan. "But everyone should also know that creating problems between the two fraternal countries is impossible."
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for nearly two decades. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, is brokering the peace process. Peace talks kicked off after a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but have brought little tangible result so far. Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law.
The alleged agreement was reached during the latest meetings held by Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan with his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts, influential Hurriyet newspaper reported.
Babacan held talks on Garabagh settlement with his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandian on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich on Sunday and further with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov in Baku on Monday.
Huriyyet said the conflicting sides had agreed four provisions.
Under the first one, Armenia is to return the Fizuli, Jabrayil, Gubadly, Zangilan and Aghdam districts it currently occupies to Azerbaijan at some point.
According to the second provision, Azerbaijanis ousted from their homes during military action in the early 1990s will return home.
The third provision stipulates that the tentative administration option will be applied to Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azerbaijani region currently under Armenian occupation, until the status of the region is determined. After the status is determined, Azerbaijan will regain its strategic Kalbajar district. In return, Azerbaijan will reopen its overland and air links with Armenia, according to the report.
The fourth provision indicates that international peacekeepers -- allegedly including representatives of the conflicting sides and mediating countries -- will be based on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops. Turkey and Russia will not send in peacekeeping forces.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry’s press-service has refuted the report. Tigran Balayan, the ministry spokesman, said no talks on Garabagh conflict settlement had been carried out with Ankara’s participation, adding that peace talks were underway as before, with the mediatiation of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Ankara also dismissed Hurriyet’s report. The spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Burak Ozugergin, said in an interview with the Baku-based ANS TV channel that the country’s government had not developed any plans on Garabagh settlement.
"Naturally, we support a speedy solution of the Garabagh problem. We value the talks being held between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well. However, Turkey is not acting as a party in the conflict settlement. This problem has to be solved between the parties to the conflict proper. The Azerbaijani and Armenian sides are holding regular meetings, and there is no need for Turkey in this respect," Ozugergin said.
Commenting on the matter, Khazar Ibrahim, the spokesman for the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry, told ANS TV that the mentioned report was absolutely baseless.
"The newspaper’s report is nonsense. It is possible that some peacekeeping forces will be stationed on the contact line. But Azerbaijan has already stated on various levels that if this happens in the future, these forces cannot include representatives of neighboring and co-chairing countries."
Ibrahim did not rule out that the publication of such reports aims to sow a seed of discord between Turkey and Azerbaijan. "But everyone should also know that creating problems between the two fraternal countries is impossible."
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for nearly two decades. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, is brokering the peace process. Peace talks kicked off after a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but have brought little tangible result so far. Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law.
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