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Erdoğan sends envoy to Baku after talks in Yerevan
Sinirlioğlu traveled to Yerevan on Wednesday as Erdoğan’s special envoy and met with Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan as a process of rapprochement aimed at restoring relations between the two estranged neighbors is at a stalemate. Erdoğan sent a letter to Sarksyan as well, which contained a message that an agreement would better serve the interests of the two countries, especially when compared to the cost of a failure to make peace.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas, announced Sinirlioğlu’s visit to Baku.
Describing Sinirlioğlu’s meeting in Yerevan as “very positive and constructive,” Davutoğlu underlined that the difficulties concerning the normalization process between Armenia and Turkey should be overcome “all together.”
Recalling that he held a meeting with Sarksyan in Kiev in February when the two attended the inauguration of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Davutoğlu said they had agreed on principle with the Armenian president on Sinirlioğlu’s visit to Yerevan during the Kiev meeting.
“Within this vision of peace, we believe that our relations with Armenia will become normalized in compliance with the spirit and wording of the protocols,” Davutoğlu added, referring to the two protocols signed in October between Armenia and Turkey for establishing diplomatic ties and reopening their border.
Following Sinirlioğlu’s visit to Yerevan, a need for paying a visit to Baku as well has emerged, diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Today’s Zaman. Sinirlioğlu will convey his perceptions in the Armenian capital and the signals he received from the Armenian side to Azerbaijani officials, the same sources said.
At the time, diplomatic sources described the meeting between Davutoğlu and Sarksyan that took place in Kiev as “an open-minded” meeting during which the Turkish side, for the first time, had the chance to explain its concerns on the Nagorno-Karabakh process to the Armenian side. In earlier meetings, the Armenian side had refused to talk about the issue with the Turkish side.
On Thursday, diplomatic sources said Davutoğlu’s reference to the Kiev meeting during the press conference with Droutsas should be interpreted by keeping in mind the Armenian side’s openness to talk about the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with the Turkish side.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry had announced that Erdoğan is expected to meet with Sarksyan on the sidelines of a nuclear summit in Washington next week. Erdoğan will attend the summit on April 12-13, along with the leaders of 46 other countries. US President Barack Obama, a staunch supporter of Turkish-Armenian efforts to normalize their relations, will have bilateral talks with Sarksyan, but no meeting is currently scheduled with Erdoğan, the White House has announced. Turkish officials said meetings with Obama or other world leaders could be scheduled in the coming days if necessary.
Recalling that Azerbaijan will not be represented at the White House summit, Turkish diplomatic sources said that through Sinirlioğlu’s visit, Turkey also wanted to pacify possible concerns on the Azerbaijani side.
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