Border controls

It is not clear, even to ex-president of Turkey what will the country gain from opening borders with Armenia. It is clear what US, Europe and Armenia gain, but Turkish politics of late are either very clever, one-step-ahead-of-everybody-else type politics or just plain inconsistent. I do not believe that prime minister Erdogan can be duped so easily so I prefer to think of some devilish game, which Turkey - basking in light of Obama visit- started playing.

The US tries to strengthen its positions in Caucasus at the respect of Russia, for greater geopolitical reasons (there are of course sentimental reasons for public too). Improving Turkish-Armenian relationship too early, seriously damages the positions of official Baku, because the solution of the conflict will be postponed indefinetily; this is equal to loss of Qarabagh. Our position is very simple and we want this to be taken into account.

Turkey will gain nothing from improving relations with Armenia unless the occupied territories are released. Turkey will not ever be admitted into EU, nor will it be relieved from accusations of genocide. America needs Turkey for her special position in the Muslim world and Eurasia. America and Europe need Turkey more than ever, although they hate to admit it. Turkey agrees to proceed , but it should proceed warily, knowing that at some point their path diverge. Path to Turkish greatness lies elsewhere.

There is no better choice but to stick to your guns and expand its influence to the East. There is an earnest ally there. Azerbaijan will stand by Turkey, as her faithful ally, if she projects power to the East towards Turkey's proper place as great Eurasian power. Azerbaijan has less to gain if Turkey bows to European wishes or if she becomes Middle Eastern.

Shame, but I will get over it

I am not a war monger, nor an idiot. The politics always takes an upper hand to emotions. The reconciliation with Armenia is necessary, but painful - for memories of war still linger - no one wants a repeat of 1990s carnage. But greedy frontline still claims victims every day of the year. We are still at war, even if we chose to forget.

Turkey as a nation is still our greates ally, even if her politicians betray us from time to time . Our eternal brotherhood will never be broken, by Russia, political Islamists or Armenians. We are part of one nation and every Turk is just as much an Azeri as Baku is brother to Istanbul.

Turkey, beware!

I will be really shocked if Turkish President Abdullah Gul visits Armenia., reacting to Armenian invitation. This is a bold step, which will not be taken lightly by Azerbaijan - not that we can do much about that. My opinion is that today is a very bad time for such a visit - a time when we have a real chance to prize Armenia away from her Russian masters, return our territories, and end the "genocide" claims for good. Turkey has to play key and decisive role in the Caucasus conflicts, by coming out strongly as a protector of all Caucasian nations, on the conditions that they drop their claims and venomous hate.

The AKP leaders and their Islamist cronies - which do not represent majority of Turkish population - are playing a dangerous game with Russia. Instead of cozying up to their biggest trade partner, Turkey has to realize that her biggest role in this region is to push Russia out of Caucasus and Central Asia once and for all. It is not a natural role of US State Department, disinterested in Muslim lives to push this agenda. Muslim Turkey has to take much bigger stake in her ethnic and religious kin which suffered under Russia for much too long.

The only right visit to Armenia should happen when Russian military bases leave her soil, when Azerbaijan territories are returned and Karabakh status is agreed upon to satisfaction of both parties. A visit before that is nothing but an exercise in opportunistic politics. Turkey will never be pro-russian and Armenian-friendly and we all know it.

What Azerbaijan says

In my words I would have acknowledged the fact of massacres and ethnic cleansing of population that occured, and underscored importance of Turkish society itself to come up to the decision.. Unfortunetely, we are still suffering from "tit-for-tat" mentality. But the resolution is a good step, showing that Azerbaijan is willing to stand up for its friend through thick and thin.

STATEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

The U.S. House of Representative's Foreign Affairs Committee adopted the draft Resolution 106, which characterizes the events of 1915 in Ottoman Empire related to relocation of the part of the Armenian population collaborating with invading forces, as "Genocide". The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan condemns this decision as wrong and biased and considers it harmful for the developments in the region and globally. Azerbaijan supports the Turkish call to examine the archival documents related to the World War I tragedies in this part of the world. It is crucial to learn all details before taking these serious steps. Azerbaijan suffered itself from notorious ethnic cleansing by Armenia, vivid example of which is genocide in Azerbaijani town of Khojaly, where hundreds of women, kids, and elderly people have been killed. Azerbaijan, which is also a victim of numerous terrorist acts and occupation of territories by Armenia, knows well how Armenian diaspora and Government hide their own misdoings through the aggressive propaganda. MFA of Azerbaijan strongly urges the U.S. House of Representatives to refrain from adopting the Resolution 106 in order to demonstrate that the United States Congress is impartial and not under the pressure of lobbies.