Turkey welcomes Minsk Group’s Karabakh statement

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has welcomed a joint statement from the United States, France and Russia as the co-chairmen of OSCE’s Minsk Group on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

In a statement released from the Group of Eight summit in Italy on Friday, the United States, France and Russia called for the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to settle a long-running row over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The three countries said they "affirm our commitment" to efforts by Armenia and Azerbaijan to finalize "the basic principles for the settlement" of the conflict.

A day after the so-called Minsk Group’s statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the joint statement referred to the "basic principles for the settlement of the Karabakh problem" submitted to Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 2007 in Madrid, noting that "the principles in question formed a whole, reflecting the stances of both parties."

"The parties should assume a constructive approach and consider the importance given to the matter by the co-chairmen. Both Azerbaijan and Armenia should achieve a final solution in this conflict, which continues to be a bleeding wound for the south Caucasus region," the Anatolia news agency quoted the ministry’s statement as saying.

Border issue:

Nagorno-Karabakh is an enclave in Azerbaijan that has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since a six-year conflict that killed about 30,000 people and displaced 1 million before a truce was reached in 1994.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan during its conflict with Armenia. Mediators from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, who have been monitoring peacemaking efforts, had reported in early May that they saw signs of progress.

As peace efforts in the South Caucasus intensify, Armenia has reaffirmed it wants to restore ties with Turkey and open its borders without any preconditions.

The statement came from Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who spoke at a joint news conference with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, Armenian dailies reported. “As it was previously said, Armenia is ready to normalize relations with Turkey without any preconditions,” he said. “Now we are waiting for a response from the Turkish side.”