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Abdullah Gul: â€œNew stage has begun in the Caucasus for the settlement of the frozen conflictsâ€

11 September 2008 07:51 (UTC +04:00)

Gul underlined that tense diplomatic activity was observed in connection with the Caucasus Development and Cooperation Platform initiated by Turkey and the whole world was following the diplomatic processes in the region.

The president expressed his hope that Russia would have positive approach to the platform and said he had discussed bilateral and regional issues with Kazakhstanâ€™s President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Antalya.

Abdullah Gul said Foreign Minister of Turkey Ali Babacan might meet with Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers within the framework of UN session in New York and mentioned that such a meeting was held when he was Foreign Minister.

Noting that the visit to Armenia put an end to the freezing relations between the two countries Gul underlined the necessity of finding ways of settlement.
â€œWe should be realists. We do not trivialize the issues, but we should not dream, either,â€ he said.

Asked whether Turkish, Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents would have trilateral summit, Gul â€œOne should make effort for the solution of the problems. I think it is high time for this. Minsk Group has been working on it for 17 years, but no results have been produced yet. We should know what happens after 17 years. We wish the problem to be solved,â€ said.