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 discuss the matter. 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, said French
Ankara says the Turkish-Armenian and Azerbaijani-Armenian processes are separate, although progress on one will positively affect the other.
Recalling that Azerbaijan and Turkey consider themselves “one nation, two states,” Fassier ruled out the possibility of Turkey“s mediation in the process, indicating that Turkey was actually a party in the issue.
“Turkey”s mediation in this process is not possible. Common sense demands this,“he said, while reiterating that the Nagorno-Karabakh process and the normalization efforts between Ankara and Yerevan should be considered two independent processes. Fassier, nonetheless, called the two issues “two processes within the same regional area” and admitted that any progress in one of the two processes might have a “positive and useful” impact on the other process.
The Nagorno-Karabakh issue has sometimes been used in domestic policy in Turkey, and linking the Turkish-Armenian and Azerbaijani-Armenian processes might lead to no resolution for either of the problems, he also warned.
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