Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has suggested that efforts to resolve a deep-seated dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh were nearing a new level, saying the parties were considering starting work on a peace deal.
"The idea that work on a draft peace deal could start emerged at the end of the meetings," Babacan told reporters Friday in Helsinki, where he attended Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) talks. A sub-group of OSCE countries, called the Minsk Group, is focused on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. The Minsk Group had two separate meetings in Helsinki this week. "The meetings were extremely positive," Babacan said, adding that there were "concrete developments" on the issue. The Minsk Group is co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France.
Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan in the early 1990s after a protracted war between Azerbaijan and Armenians of the mountainous region that began in the late 1980s. In show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, Turkey severed its diplomatic ties and closed its border with Armenia and says Armenian withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh is a condition for normalizing ties. Babacan had separate talks with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on the sidelines of the OSCE meetings on Thursday. "I can tell you that things are going well both in the process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between Turkey and Armenia. I say this on the basis of the impressions I received from Azerbaijan and Armenia," Babacan said. "We hope these talks reach a positive end. Our goal is full normalization of relations among Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia."
Azerbaijan's President ?lham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarksyan, met in Moscow last month and, for the first time, jointly signed a declaration pledging efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Ankara has welcomed the Moscow summit. "We have been counseling that this window of opportunity should not be missed. I hope all these efforts will lead to a new environment of peace, stability and security in the Caucasus," Babacan said. President Abdullah G
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