Armenia, Azerbaijan decide to work on a lasting peace deal: Turkish FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met Thursday his counterparts, Edward Nalbandian of Armenia and Elmar Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan, on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting in Helsinki.

"I see this decision as an important one made to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute," he was quoted by Anatolian Agency as telling reporters after he returned from Finland.

Babacan said representatives of five countries including Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan Russia and Armenia that were expected to set up the Caucasus Stability & Cooperation Platform, also met in Helsinki and exchanged views on the goals, principles, and mechanisms of the platform.

The Turkish foreign minister also said he debated general developments in the Caucasus and Nagorno-Karabakh dispute during his visit to Baku and Caucasian issues, Russia-NATO relationship, Georgia-Ukraine committees, and the situation in Afghanistan and Kosovo in the NATO meeting in Brussels.

AGREEMENT ON CONTINUATION OF MEETINGS

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers agreed to continue such contacts; while an official from the OSCE Minsk Group said the border between two countries will open soon, media reports suggested on Friday.

Babacan and Nalbandian agreed to continue such meetings, Public Radio of Armenia and Russian Interfax news agency reported.

"The foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey met in Helsinki on December 4. At their meeting, the parties continued negotiations intended to help straighten out the Armenian-Turkish relationship," an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Interfax.

The two countries have no diplomatic relations and their border has been closed for more than a decade, as Armenia presses the international community to admit the so-called "genocide" claims instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations, and Armenia's invasion of 20 percent territory of Azerbaijan.

A warmer period began in the relations when Turkish President Abdullah Gul paid a landmark visit to Yerevan in September. Two countries have been holding contacts on the minister level since.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Turkey believes the renewed dialogue with Armenia could contribute to the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, an Azerbaijani under the occupation of Armenia.

An official from the OSCE said 2008 was a good year in the sense of the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"I have often recalled the so-called golden opportunity, and after today's meeting it seems to me that the work on the basic principles will complete next spring and them it will be possible to work at the agreement. But everything certainly depends on the will of the parties", the special rapporteur of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly on South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh Goran Lennmarker was quoted as saying by the Azerbaijani media.

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia began in 1988 on Armenian territorial claims over Azerbaijan. Since 1992 Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts.

Lennmarker added Turkey's mediation on the conflict was a good initiative and it is not good not only for Azerbaijan but also for Armenia. He also voiced hope that the border between Armenia and Turkey will open soon.

Turkey had offered Armenia to open the border on the condition of the establishment of a joint commission to investigate the 1915 incidents. Armenia has been dragging its feet on accepting the proposal.

TALKS GOING WELL

Babacan said earlier Friday that talks between Turkey and Armenia as well as Azerbaijan and Armenia were going well.

"I can say that things are going well both in the process between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as between Turkey and Armenia and I hope that the talks would yield the desired result, which is the total normalization of relations," Babacan was quoted by Anatolian Agency as telling reporters in Helsinki.

Babacan said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was a complicated issue with many levels, but added that both Azeri and Armenian presidents had the political will to find a solution.

The Turkish foreign minister also held talks with co-chairs of the Minsk Group dealing with the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in Helsinki.

He said the U.S., Russia and France also extended support for the process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"I have told all parts that they should not miss the opportunity for a solution, and I hope these efforts will yield result to help create a new atmosphere of peace, stability and security in the Caucasus," Babacan said.