Ankara reluctant to be Baku's eternal hostageOctober 19, 2009 - 17:47 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - "If we take an optimistic view, we can say that Armenian-Turkish rapprochement and border opening may contribute to settlement of Karabakh conflict. That may break Armenian society's stereotypes in relation to Turks," Conciliation Resources organization's Caucasus Project manager Laurence Broers told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.Even though Turkey has for many years supported Azerbaijan's position on Karabakh conflict, it is necessary to realize that Ankara does not want its foreign policy to be Baku's hostage. "It's hard now to estimate Azerbaijan's influence upon Turkey. Signing of Protocols on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish ties showed that the pressure was not so strong as it seemed," he noted. Expert also stressed the importance of establishing contacts between Armenian and Azerbaijani societies, noting that civil society discussions in both countries would produce their results. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |