PATH ACROSS KARABAKH

The 10th summit of the leaders of Turkic-speaking states will take place in Istanbul on 15-16 September.  The summit is expected to create a permanent secretariat of the Union of the Turkic world.  The summit agenda was agreed by foreign ministers during an information meeting in Bodrum, Turkey, on 5 August.  What other issues will be discussed at the meeting of heads of states?  What are the priorities of Turkic countries for the near future?  What role could the Turkic world play in the liberation of occupied Azerbaijani lands?  We asked Irfan Gunduz, member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey from the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) to supply answers to these questions.

-The next meeting of the leaders of Turkic countries will take place next month.  What are the priorities for Turkic-language states?

-The Turkic world needs to coordinate actions in resolving political problems.  The creation of Turksoy (Joint Administration of Turkish Culture and Arts), the meeting of foreign ministers and the upcoming summit of presidents of Turkic states - all these are steps in this direction.

I think that, while there is non-interference in domestic affairs, there is potential for joint participation in addressing issues of foreign policy.  Among these issues is, of course, the problem of resolving the Karabakh conflict.  Turkey fully supports Azerbaijan's just demand that all the lands occupied by Armenia be liberated.  I think that at the upcoming summit of the leaders of the Turkic countries, the question will be raised of preparing a "road map" for this problem.  In general, the meetings of representatives of the governments of Turkic countries are a positive phenomenon in themselves.

-Will the bloody inter-ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan be discussed?  After all, they clearly hinder the integration process that you have mentioned...

-Certainly.  The upcoming summit is an excellent opportunity to eliminate all misunderstandings in relations between fraternal peoples.  I think that, in this case, Turkey and Azerbaijan can come up with an initiative to put an end to the feud between the Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks.  Enmity between two Turkic peoples is a very dangerous phenomenon, and we must do our best to achieve accord and trust.

-Turkey has unambiguously stated that without the liberation of the Azerbaijani lands, Turkey's borders with Armenia will not be opened.  Could this position change?

-The Karabakh conflict is a national problem for Turkey.  Only a resolution of the conflict can pave the way for the re-establishment of relations between Armenia and Turkey and the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border.  I am optimistic about the regulation of this conflict.  The point is that Europe increasingly needs Caspian gas.  And the best route for the export of Azerbaijani and Turkmenistani gas is a Baku-Yerevan-Ceyhan gas pipeline, which would have to cross the occupied territories - naturally, after their liberation.  That is why the Europeans will themselves move the occupiers from the occupied Azerbaijani lands, to protect their interests.  Turkey and Azerbaijan have very strong positions on this issue.  A continuation of the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh is not in the West's interests.

-Are there differences in approach to the Karabakh conflict between the ruling party and the opposition in Turkey?

-There are no differences.  Resolution of the Karabakh conflict has been elevated to the level of state policy in Turkey.

-The Armenian diaspora have threatened that it will sue Turkey all over the world within its campaign for recognition of the so-called "Armenian genocide"...

-The events of 1915 are a subject for research and explanation by historians.  Let the Armenians open their archives to Turkish scientists.  In Syria alone, there are currently 500,000 ethnic Armenians, so what genocide is Yerevan talking about?  Turkey has a clearly stated position on this issue.  No pressure by any diaspora, the United States or European countries can change Turkey's position.  Even if all the parliaments of the world recognize the "genocide," it will have no effect on Ankara.

-Can it be said that the "football diplomacy" is a matter of the past, once and for all?

-By using "football diplomacy," Turkey made a gesture to Armenia and proposed an address of the problems which exist in our relations in a civilized manner.  But Armenia's refusal to free Nagorno-Karabakh has once again demonstrated to the world the destructive nature of Yerevan's foreign policy.