HistoryofTruth.com - Armenian Allegations

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has backed Russia’s role in efforts to resolve a territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia, noting that the Azerbaijani-Armenian and Turkish-Armenian peace processes have improved the political atmosphere in the Caucasus.

Davutoglu, speaking after talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, late on Thursday praised efforts undertaken by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group. Russia is one of the co-leaders of the Minsk Group. „We appreciate Russia’s efforts for a resolution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in the Minsk Group. I believe we will be able to reach a solution with Russia’s contributions,“ Davutoglu said during a joint press conference with Lavrov.

Armenia occupied a chunk of Azerbaijani territory in a war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the early 1990s. Turkey, in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, closed its border and severed diplomatic ties with Armenia in 1993. Ankara and Yerevan, however, are now in talks to normalize relations and have been holding closed-door meetings to that effect. Azerbaijan, Turkey’s regional and ethnic ally and a key energy supplier, has expressed concern over the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, fearing it would lose key leverage in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Ankara says the Turkish-Armenian and Azerbaijani-Armenian processes are separate, although progress on one track will positively affect the other. Davutoglu said Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders are expected to meet in Russia on July 18. “We thanked Russia for its contributions,” he said.

Davutoglu also said Moscow, which supported Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, backed Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. “Russia supports normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations,” he told reporters later in the day.

Davutoglu and Lavrov also discussed the Cyprus problem as well as a planned visit by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Turkey. Davutoglu said both countries agree that the Cyprus issue should be resolved in the United Nations. “We consider Cyprus to be a matter of the UN and do not think that it would be appropriate to carry Cyprus to another platform,” Davutoglu said, apparently rejecting European Union pressure on candidate Turkey to agree to concessions on Cyprus. “Turkey and Russia share the same viewpoint on Cyprus. Russia also thinks Cyprus should be resolved within the boundaries of the UN,” he said.