Baku, Azerbaijan, July 19
By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:
Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan intend to bring the three countries’ economic relations to a new level, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
He made the remarks at a briefing on results of the trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan in Baku July 19.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway will be used to develop cooperation in the transport sector, noted Cavusoglu.
The 4th meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, Elmar Mammadyarov, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Rashid Meredov is being held in Baku July 19.
The agenda of the meeting of the three countries’ FMs includes the development of cooperation in the political, economic, energy, transport and humanitarian spheres, and the implementation of regional projects. The first meeting of the three foreign ministers was held in Baku on May 26, 2014, and the second meeting – in Ashgabat on January 29, 2015, and the third meeting – in Antalya on August 28, 2015.
Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Cavusoglu noted that Turkey calls on the OSCE Minsk Group to strengthen its activity on the conflict’s settlement. Turkey supports the territorial integrity and fair position of Azerbaijan, said the Turkish minister.
Cavusoglu again emphasized that Turkey condemns the provocation committed by the Armenian armed forces against the civilians of the Alkhanli village of Azerbaijan’s Fuzuli district.
It should be recalled that on July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces again violated ceasefire and, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled Azerbaijani positions and territories where the civilian population lives, namely the Alkhanli village of the country’s Fuzuli district, thereby grossly violating the requirements of international law, the Azerbaijani defense ministry said earlier.
As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sahiba Allahverdiyeva, 50, and Zahra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Salminaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.