As Turkish and Armenian leaders prepare to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu is making the rounds in Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent Sinirlioğlu as a special envoy to Baku on Friday to convey a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The Turkish diplomat previously held high-level talks in Yerevan on Wednesday.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu confirmed that Turkey would continue its efforts to secure “fair memory” in bilateral relations as well as peace and stability for the Southern Caucasus in the light of the normalization protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia in October.
“We need to overcome the existing difficulties together in accordance with this vision,” Davutoğlu said Friday during a press conference with Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas.
Sinirlioğlu was received by Armenian President Serge Sarkisian and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian this week after Sarkisian and Davutoğlu agreed to review the process during an earlier meeting in Kiev.
Davutoğlu described the talks as “positive and constructive” and announced the next stop for the Turkish diplomat would be Baku. He also rebuffed the idea of any outside influence or involvement, saying, “It [the normalizing process] should continue in its nature.”
“We sincerely believe our relations with Armenia will be normalized in accordance with the protocols’ letter and spirit,” the Turkish foreign minister said.
“We gave a clear message of our loyalty to the normalization process during the talks in Armenia,” said a diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Now, we need to share our impression with the Azerbaijani side.”
Ramiz Mehdiyev, the head of the Azerbaijani President’s Executive Office, held talks last week in Ankara, just days before Erdoğan, Sarkisian and Obama are set to meet in Washington on the sidelines of a nuclear-security summit.
Obama invited the Turkish and Armenian leaders to the summit and has been planning to host a pull-aside meeting to speed up normalization talks between the two neighbors.
“It is quite natural to talk with the Azerbaijani side, too. One more time, we will affirm that Turkey is sharing Azerbaijani concerns over the Karabakh conflict,” the diplomatic source added. “As you know, there are speculative reports saying Obama may convince Erdoğan to step back during the upcoming meeting with Sarkisian in Washington.”
Sinirlioğlu will be received by Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on Friday.
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