Turkish FM says new climate in Caucasus to solve disputes

"There is a new environment in the region to solve ongoing disputes. This is a significant opportunity we should well-assess," he told a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu after their meeting in Ankara. Â

Babacan said Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian would visit Istanbul on Nov. 24 and that they would meet over dinner on the same night.

"Our goal in the Turkey-Armenia dialogue process is full normalization. However, we need to take mutual steps to reach that point," Babacan said.

"On the other hand, the talks in the region have two separate lines. One of them is between Turkey and Armenia, and the other between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Tripartite meetings will take place from time to time to secure coordination between these two separate lines," he added.

There is no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey over Armenia's aggression toward Azerbaijan. But a warmer period began between Turkey and Armenia after Gul paid a landmark visit to Armenia early September.

 

Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders met in Moscow earlier this month and signed a declaration calling for a "peaceful resolution" to their dispute over the province of Nagorno-Karabakh on the basis of "binding international guarantees", taking a step further towards resolution of the conflict.

 

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, displacing 10 percent of the Azeri population in the series of bloody clashes both between and within the two neighboring countries.

 

In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are currently holding peaceful negotiations. Nearly 30,000 were killed in the 1990s war over the enclave and soldiers on both sides continue to exchange sporadic fire, claiming lives.