Davutoglu: "The Turkish-Armenian protocols will pave the way for peace and stability in the caucasus"

Briefing deputies in Parliament on the recently signed protocols between Turkey and Armenia towards thawing out decades of frozen relations, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said yesterday that one of the key goals of the deals is to lay the groundwork for full normalization in the Caucasus. Stressing that Turkey's efforts to protect Azerbaijan's territorial integrity would continue uninterruptedly, Davutoglu said that high-level Turkish officials, including President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and himself, have repeatedly assured Azerbaijan that Turkey will do nothing that would harm Azeri national interests. In strongly worded remarks, Davutoglu said, "The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is as valuable as Turkey's territorial integrity. No country has worked harder than Turkey to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh issue." Telling how the protocols speak of normalizing bilateral relations, thus advancing peace, security and stability, not only between Turkey and Armenia, but also across the entire region, Davutoglu pledged that Turkey would continue to work to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh issue regardless of any international, regional and bilateral developments. "Turkey's foreign policy is based on sound ground," he said. "The most fundamental element is to create a zone of peace, prosperity and stability around our country. This is our most important foreign policy goal. We will maintain our efforts to ensure permanent peace, prosperity and stability in all adjacent areas including the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Mediterranean." He added, "We pursue a quite principled policy towards this end. We're trying to put into practice four main principles to develop an understanding in those areas. The first of those principles is to create and ensure an order of security and stability for everyone in those adjacent areas. The second is to consolidate a ground of political dialogue to resolve all problems through dialogue. The third is to create mutual economic dependencies and remove all obstacles to a peaceful atmosphere through such economic order. And the last is to pave the way for the coexistence of various religious, ethnic, and ideological elements by internalizing those differences of countries and societies." He stressed that due to the current status quo in the Caucasus, which benefits no one, some Azeri territories have been under occupation for 17 years. Armenia, on the other hand, is growing poorer and poorer and its population is fleeing the country. And the current status quo weakens Turkey's influence, he said, so we must change it. "We have three important targets towards this end," he continued. "First of all, we need to establish good neighborly relations with Armenia. Secondly, we want to set up healthy communication channels between the Turkish and Armenian peoples. And thirdly, we aim to accelerate the process to resolve the Upper Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia." In related news, Davutoglu will travel to Baku today to attend a meeting of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). During his stay in the Azeri capital, Davutoğlu is expected to hold talks with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and his Azeri counterpart Elmar Memmedyarov in a bid to defuse tension over the deals signed with Armenia.