Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has firmly rejected arguments suggesting that there has been deterioration in Turkey’s political will to normalize relations with its estranged neighbor Armenia.
Davutoğlu’s remarks came on Wednesday at a press conference ahead of his departure to Kazakhstan for a three-day official visit when he was reminded of certain claims made in the wake of Ankara’s uneasiness over an Armenian court ruling which the Turkish capital says threatens protocols signed to normalize relations with Yerevan.
“Our strong political will regarding all types of efforts in the direction of the constitution of permanent peace and stability in the Caucasus exists,” Davutoğlu said, adding that Turkey’s efforts are based on its strong resolve to contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability, which will continue in the coming period with the country making bold moves. After months of Swiss mediation and US encouragement, Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols in October 2009 to establish diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border. However, the process hit rocky ground after an Armenian court upheld the legality of the protocols but underlined that they could not contradict Yerevan’s official position that the alleged Armenian genocide must be internationally recognized.
Turkey accused Yerevan of trying to rewrite and place conditions on the deals. Armenia’s president and foreign minister have warned that the rapprochement is under threat of collapse.
Ankara attaches importance to the advancement of this strong political will within the framework of the initial perspective which put forth such will, Davutoğlu said, echoing Ankara’s view that the Armenian court’s decision contains preconditions and restrictive provisions that go against the letter and spirit of the protocols.
Calling on every related party to play its part to achieve peace and stability, Davutoğlu noted that the international community’s support on this issue has been continuing. Davutoğlu’s visit to the Kazakh capital of Astana is taking place at the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart, Kanat Saudabayev.
Recalling that Kazakhstan’s one-year chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) formally began last month and that Turkey will take over the term presidency of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in June from Kazakhstan, which has held the presidency since it was established in 1993, Davutoğlu said the two countries would be assuming the presidencies of two of the most important security organizations in Europe and Asia for around one year.
Noting that this would be his first visit to Kazakhstan in his capacity as foreign minister, a position he assumed in May of last year, Davutoğlu said he planned to visit other Central Asian countries as well.
“Central Asia is a region which constitutes one of the most strategic backbones of our foreign policy. It is a region to which we are attached by cultural ties, beyond being in the same neighborhood, although we are not immediate neighbors. We are determined to develop these relationships by deepening them further in the coming months.”
Ankara believes that Kazakhstan’s one-year chairmanship of the OSCE will offer an opportunity to create synergy between the 56-nation transatlantic security body and the CICA due to close coordination between Turkey and Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the first former Soviet state to chair the OSCE, after making promises to carry out democratic reforms.
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