The issue of enhancing OSCE Minsk Group's role in resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was one of the main topics of the discussions among Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Qatar, CNN Turk reported referring to diplomatic sources.
At the meeting, which mainly focused on Tehran's enrichment of uranium to 20-percent, the Turkish side has also touched the situation in the Caucasus. Davutoglu pointed to the need to strengthen the OSCE Minsk Group's role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
Erdogan also raised the issue of the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. According to him, the Armenian Constitutional Court's amendments to the protocols signed between Ankara and Yerevan, could adversely affect the incipient process of normalization of the bilateral relations. Turkey, in turn, is making every effort to establish diplomatic relations between the countries, Erdogan added.
Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers, Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian, signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich Oct. 10.
After signing of the protocols, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly stated that the further development of relations between the two countries is directly linked to the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, despite the absence of the item in the protocols.
Jan.12, 2009, the Armenian Constitutional Court approved the compliance of the Ankara-Yerevan protocols with the Armenian Constitution. However, after the approval the court reported that creation of a joint commission to study the 1915 events is unnecessary and Armenian will never refuse from the demand to recognize the genocide.
