Azernews.Az

Enhancing the OSCE Minsk Group’s role in the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper Garabagh was high on the agenda of talks on Sunday between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Qatar, CNN Turk TV channel reported referring to diplomatic sources.
During the meeting, which mainly focused on Iran’s enrichment of uranium to 20 percent, Ankara also touched upon the situation in volatile Caucasus. Davutoglu pointed to the need to strengthen the Minsk Group’s role in Garabagh settlement.
The Garabagh conflict emerged during the last few years of the Soviet Union. 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including Upper Garabagh and seven adjacent districts, has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war. Over a decade of efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been fruitless so far.
Erdogan also raised the issue of the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation in Qatar. According to him, the Armenian Constitutional Court's ruling on the protocols signed between Ankara and Yerevan could adversely affect the incipient process of normalization of bilateral relations. Turkey, in turn, is making every effort to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries, Erdogan added.
Armenia and Turkey have been at odds for decades and maintain no diplomatic ties. Ankara and Yerevan signed two protocols on normalizing their relations in Switzerland in October 2009 in a bid to end decades of hostility. However, the documents require approval in both countries’ parliaments. Turkish officials have assured Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, that the protocols will not pass in the country’s parliament until progress is made in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Also, the Armenian Constitutional Court’s ruling issued in January was criticized by Ankara as it essentially indicated that the allegations on World War I-era "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire and territorial claims against Turkey remain on the agenda.*