Analyst: Azerbaijan turning Turkey into diplomatic hostage

December 4, 2013 – 19:32 AMT
Director of the Caucasus Strategic Studies Center slammed Azeri government for abusing Turkey’s attitude and preventing Ankara-Yerevan rapprochement, Haqqin.az reported.
As Dr. Hasan Oktay stated at an Istanbul-hosted symposium, Azeri government’s policy line stands in the way of the peace process in the Caucasus. The analyst further criticized Baku for turning Turkey into its diplomatic hostage where the Nagorno Karabakh issue is concerned.
“Recently, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s visit to Yerevan was sabotaged over an unverified media report, suggesting Armenia was offered to cede two Karabakh-adjacent regions in exchange for normalization of ties with Ankara. It’s quite probable the report was fed to Turkish media by Baku,” he said, characterizing the move as disastrous to Turkey’s Caucasus-related policy.
The analyst characterized the Karabakh issue as the only stumbling block in Ankara-Yerevan relations, with another Turkish analyst Nesrin Sarıahmetoğlu agreeing.
The Turkish analysts’ stance caused an “emotional outburst” and “extreme discontent” among Azerbaijani delegation members, Haqqin.az said.