Foreign

Home page

Foreign

Former US Ambassador: If there is no adjustment between Armenia and Azerbaijan itâ€™s not easy to finalize peaceful and creative projects and plans in the region

29 July 2010 09:40 (UTC +04:00)

Mr. Wilson addressed the US Congressâ€™ Foreign Affairs Committee open Hearing on â€œTurkeyâ€™s New Foreign Policy Direction: Implications for U.S.-Turkish Relationsâ€, Chaired by Howard Berman, who is known as a strong supporter of â€œArmenian Genocideâ€ Resolution, on July 28th.

During the hearing Mr. Wilson touched upon the Turkish-Armenian normalization and Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying that if there is no adjustment between Armenia and Azerbaijan itâ€™s not easy to finalize peaceful and creative projects and plans in the region.

â€œUnfortunately, Armenian and Turkish leaders concluded that they could not go forward now to ratify the protocols that called for normalizing relations and opening the border. I think doing so can still build the confidence needed for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and for Turks and Armenians to deal with their past, present and future together in a forthright mannerâ€, he added.

The former Ambassador pointed out that, the South Caucasus is a volatile and fragile part of the world. According to him, the 2008 Georgian war gave impetus to reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia.

â€œWhen President Sarksian and President Gul stood together in Yerevan a month after the Russian invasion of Georgia, the two leaders seemed symbolically to say, â€œwe have a vision of the Caucasus, itâ€™s not what just happened in Georgia, and weâ€™re determined to take on the most difficult issues between us to try to achieve itâ€. But unfortunately, two sides concluded that they could not go forward nowâ€, - he mentioned.

Speaking about the interests of brevity between US and Turkey, Mr. Wilson mentioned of Cyprus, Greece, the Balkans and the Black Sea, and such other active points on agenda of US-Turkish relations as well as energy, terrorism, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

â€œSuffice it to say that, in my view, on each of these we want fundamentally the same things, there are of course differences of view, and the United States and Turkey cooperate pretty wellâ€, - he added.

During the hearing the Congress Members explored their concerns over various directions of Turkish Foreign Policy, specially, towards Iran, Israel, etc.