All-encompassing Caucasus talks will begin in weeks: Turkish FM
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ISTANBUL - A comprehensive consultation process regarding the peace efforts in the southern Caucasus will start in a few weeks, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Wednesday. (UPDATED)
The timing of the comprehensive discussion of the issues regarding the region will be determined after six countries – Turkey, the United States, Russia, Switzerland, Azerbaijan and Armenia – conduct their diplomatic traffic, Babacan was quoted by Anatolian Agency as telling a parliamentary meeting.
"We are not only targeting the normalization of Turkey-Armenia ties, but also the full normalization of the relations between Baku and Yerevan," he added. His remarks came a week after Turkey and Armenia, under Switzerland's mediation, agreed on a framework for normalizing relations, the first of its kind since Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.Â
Azerbaijan has urged Turkey, its close ally, to link reconciliation efforts with Armenia to the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the disputed region.
Russia and the United States, along with France, are co-chairs of the Minsk Group, which is seeking to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.