Azerbaijan, Baku, April 2 /Trend News, J. Babayeva/
Azerbaijani intellectuals believe opening Turkey-Armenia border will not have a positive impact on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"Thaw in the Turkey-Armenia relations will have a negative effect on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Opening border will strengthen Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be an embalmed conflict rather than frozen as a result," Azerbaijan Intellectuals Union chairman Eldaniz Guliyev told Trend News.
Turkey's SABAH newspaper quoted the anonymous EU official as saying that he hopes the Turkey-Armenia border will be opened following U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Turkey in April. Obama will trip to Turkey on April 5-7.
Diplomat does not agree with the reports claiming that no talks will be held on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict after borders are opened.
Armenia has occupied 20% of Azerbaijan's territory - Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. The occupation began in 1988. Azerbaijan lost the Nagorno-Karabakh, except of Shusha and Khojali, in December 1991. In 1992-93, Armenian Armed Forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and Nagorno-Karabakh's seven surrounding regions. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful, but fruitless negotiations.
He said Turkey has displayed instability in the political scene on numerous occasions. "Turkey did not have an unequivocal attitude to his brother of who has a common language and religion. Unfortunately Turkey displays the same attitude at the moment. Opening of Turkey-Armenia border will call into question Azerbaijan-Turkey relations," Guliyev said.
"Though opening borders is Turkey's internal affair it holds historical responsibility for Azerbaijan. Turkey accounts for some of the reasons that led to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Because Armenians dealt a blow to Azerbaijan as they were not able to do it with Turkey. This fact has resulted in the present-day situation. Turkey should take it into consideration and take reasonable steps," Guliyev said.
Turkey's aligning position with Armenia will result in cooling relations with Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani member of parliament and poet Sabir Rustamkhanli said the statements claiming that opening Turkey-Armenia borders will have a positive impact on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are nonsense.
"Armenia's key claim towards Turkey is to force it to admit the so-called "Armenian genocide". Armenian officials say opening of borders has nothing to do with the genocide. The same can be said about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Rustamkhanli said.
Rustamkhanli said opening of borders will affect Turkey-Azerbaijan ties. "But Azerbaijan and Turkey has always maintained fraternal relations. Even the grossest mistakes will not undermine them," he said.
Azerbaijani national poet and member of parliament Vagif Samadoglu told Trend News that under what terms the borders will be opened remains unclear. "Armenia will not give up its geographical and historical claims to Turkey. Turkish President and intellectuals are aware of it," Samadoglu said.
Samadoglu said Armenians consider themselves to be wise. Opening borders will paralyze Armenia's already week economy.
Opening Armenia-Turkey border will cool Azerbaijan-Turkey relations, he said. "Despite any cool, these relations rest on history, but not any indecent. These relations will of course continue. It is not known yet what Turkey aims to do by this move. I am sure that it will benefit Azerbaijan. Opening border can both benefit and affect Azerbaijan. One should wait," he said.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at trend@trend.az
