Aliyev’s turn at, ’One minute, one minute’

President Abdullah Gül called Aliyev last Friday, Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review learned, but failed to change his mind on the summit. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also called Aliyev to convince him to come to Istanbul. Clinton’s message that he would have a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, who will be in Istanbul during the summit, was not enough to convince Aliyev.Â

Turkey and Armenia are on the verge of signing a protocol laying out a timetable for the normalization of relations, which includes establishing diplomatic relations and opening the borders. Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in 1993 when the latter occupied Nagorno Karabakh, an Azeri territory under Armenia’s occupation, as well as seven regions surrounding the mountainous enclave. Aliyev is said to be angry at the fact that the opening of the borders is no longer directly and clearly tied to the Armenian withdrawal from occupied Azeri territories. "Sufficient progress on the resolution of the conflict of Nagorno Karabakh is required before the opening of the border," says the protocol, according to reliable sources. Aliyev, who is known to have told his close entourage that he feels betrayed by Turkey is said to have asked the Turkish side what "sufficient progress," means exactly.

Azerbaijan believes there should be no reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia prior to Armenian withdrawal. Aliyev has even conceded to have the Armenians withdraw from just five regions, postponing withdrawal from the strategic region of Lachin, a corridor connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia and Kelbecher.Â

In addition, Azerbaijan wants an agreement on the general outlines of a solution to the problem, including the future status of the enclave.Â

Concerned that a possible agreement between Turkey and Armenia is under jeopardy, the U.S. administration has dispatched U.S. Assistant Secretary Matt Bryza to Baku to calm Aliyev. The U.S. administration is exerting pressure on both Ankara and Yerevan to announce a breakthrough in their relations, before April 24, the date when the presidency will issue a statement on Armenians’ claims of genocide. U.S. During his election campaign, President Obama pledged to recognize the World War I mass killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans as genocide. Major progress on a Turkish-Armenian reconciliation might enable Obama from backing down from his election promise.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has preoccupied the world’s agenda after the independence of both countries from the former Soviet Union in early 90s. By June 1992, ethnic Armenians had expelled all ethnic Azerbaijanis from the region and had opened a corridor to Armenia through the Azerbaijani region of Lachin, and captured the province of Kelbacar. As a result of an armed conflict between the two countries, Armenia occupied nearly 20 percent of Azerbaijan and caused more than one million Azeri to flee their homes.