atatwolf
BANNED
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2012
- Messages
- 6,965
- Reaction score
- -19
- Country
- Location
Based on the motto of one nation, two states," many think that Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are built solely on common cultural, ethnic and linguistic affiliation. We should not forget the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has colored Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, said Cihat Göktepe, rector of Antalya International University, during a speech on one of the panels. Noting that the football diplomacy which was launched when Turkish President Abdullah Gül attended a football match in Armenia followed by a reciprocal visit from his Armenian counterpart ushered in Turkey-Armenian rapprochement process and hampered Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, Göktepe said that Turks support Azerbaijan's position and understand that the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations will happen only after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is peacefully settled.
The football diplomacy, which started with Armenia in late 2008 and resulted in the signing of two protocols one year later in Zurich, hasn't produced any breakthroughs in relations between Turkey and Armenia yet, but it has enraged Azerbaijan as the territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent territories between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not yet been solved.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan after Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan in 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Azerbaijani government was against the establishment of diplomatic relations until the dispute was resolved in Baku's favor. It has already been more than two decades since the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group has been serving as mediator between the two sides in order to find a peaceful solution to the conflict with little result.
Calling Nagorno-Karabakh not only just an Azerbaijani territory, but a territory belonging to the whole Turkic world, Aras said Turkey will continue with its efforts to get the occupied Azerbaijani territories back and strengthen bilateral relations. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a problem for all of us. It is also Turkey's problem. It doesn't matter how much time passes, we will never give up on Nagorno-Karabakh, as it is a Turkish, Muslim territory, it needs to be taken back, Aras concluded.
The football diplomacy, which started with Armenia in late 2008 and resulted in the signing of two protocols one year later in Zurich, hasn't produced any breakthroughs in relations between Turkey and Armenia yet, but it has enraged Azerbaijan as the territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent territories between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not yet been solved.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan after Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan in 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Azerbaijani government was against the establishment of diplomatic relations until the dispute was resolved in Baku's favor. It has already been more than two decades since the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk Group has been serving as mediator between the two sides in order to find a peaceful solution to the conflict with little result.
Calling Nagorno-Karabakh not only just an Azerbaijani territory, but a territory belonging to the whole Turkic world, Aras said Turkey will continue with its efforts to get the occupied Azerbaijani territories back and strengthen bilateral relations. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a problem for all of us. It is also Turkey's problem. It doesn't matter how much time passes, we will never give up on Nagorno-Karabakh, as it is a Turkish, Muslim territory, it needs to be taken back, Aras concluded.
