We are going to great efforts to make it successful. In this vein, the resolution of regional conflicts, particularly the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict, is necessary to transform the Caucasus into a peaceful, stable and prosperous region,” Davutoğlu told reporters at Kars Airport on Wednesday during his visit to Ağrı and Iğdır.
The Caucasus is plagued by three perennial full-scale armed conflicts -- in South Ossetia and Abkhazia between Russia and Georgia and in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Frequent border skirmishes in Nagorno-Karabakh and the August 2008 war between Georgia and Russia are signs that the territorial conflicts in the region are not really frozen.
Davutoğlu said all borders, including the Azerbaijani and Armenian borders, must be opened for a region to be transformed into a prosperous area. “The opening of the Turkish-Armenian and Azerbaijani-Armenian borders will bring peace and prosperity together. We signed protocols last year due to this perspective and we wanted normalization among all countries in our region,” Davutoğlu noted.
The foreign minister added that one-sided normalizations will not be lasting and even though the normalization has not reached the desired level in the past year, there has been significant progress in the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
