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Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also attended the Turkic Council in Azerbaijan. (Photo: DHA)
15 August 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Foreign ministers of the members of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS) met for talks on the sidelines of the third summit of the Turkic Council in the Azerbaijani city of Gabala on Thursday.
The CCTS, also known as the Turkic Council, is an international organization including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey founded with the signing of the Nakhchivan Agreement in 2009. Since its establishment, the Turkic Council has taken concrete steps to promote cooperation in the Turkic world. Hosted by a different member state each year around various topics and themes, this year the summit is being held from Aug. 15-16 and will focus on “transportation and connectivity.”
Strengthening cooperation between the Turkic countries in various fields and planning further activities of the organization were the principal topics of the foreign ministers' meeting, held on the sidelines of the third summit of the Turkic Council in the resort city of Gabala. A cooperation agreement was signed between the foreign ministers at the end of the meeting. The decisions made by the foreign ministers will be presented to the heads of states during the Council of Heads of States, which will occur as part of the third summit on Friday.
Addressing the meeting, Azerbaijan's foreign minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, made a statement mentioning some hindrances to the development of cooperation among the member states.
“While talking about regional cooperation we should not neglect the factors restraining cooperation between states,” Mammadyarov said, adding, “Separatism, national and ethnic problems [in the region], the territorial integrity of our state [Azerbaijan] and efforts made to change the internationally determined borders should be recognized as dangerous threats.”
It is already more than two decades since Azerbaijan severed diplomatic ties with neighboring Armenia after the latter occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent territories, which are internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Mentioning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as one the main obstacles to regional cooperation, Mammadyarov said, "Twenty percent of Azerbaijani territories were occupied as a result of Armenia's aggressive policy in the region, and every ninth citizen of Azerbaijan is living as a refugee in their own country." Based on four resolutions of the UN Security Council issued in the early '90s, Mammadyarov urged that Armenian troops be withdrawn from the Azerbaijani territories and expressed his gratitude to those countries that show solidarity with Azerbaijan on this issue.
The Kyrgyz Presidential Press Office stated that Turkish President Abdullah Gül, who is in Azerbaijan to attend the Turkic Council, and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev met in Gabala to discuss bilateral ties. The leaders' meeting was closed to the public.
Gül also had a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, İlham Aliyev. In the meeting, which lasted nearly 45 minutes, Gül was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım and Turkey's ambassador to Azerbaijan, Alper Coşkun.
Gül is also expected to meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Strengthening cooperation between the Turkic countries in various fields and planning further activities of the organization were the principal topics of the foreign ministers' meeting, held on the sidelines of the third summit of the Turkic Council in the resort city of Gabala. A cooperation agreement was signed between the foreign ministers at the end of the meeting. The decisions made by the foreign ministers will be presented to the heads of states during the Council of Heads of States, which will occur as part of the third summit on Friday.
Addressing the meeting, Azerbaijan's foreign minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, made a statement mentioning some hindrances to the development of cooperation among the member states.
“While talking about regional cooperation we should not neglect the factors restraining cooperation between states,” Mammadyarov said, adding, “Separatism, national and ethnic problems [in the region], the territorial integrity of our state [Azerbaijan] and efforts made to change the internationally determined borders should be recognized as dangerous threats.”
It is already more than two decades since Azerbaijan severed diplomatic ties with neighboring Armenia after the latter occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent territories, which are internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Mentioning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as one the main obstacles to regional cooperation, Mammadyarov said, "Twenty percent of Azerbaijani territories were occupied as a result of Armenia's aggressive policy in the region, and every ninth citizen of Azerbaijan is living as a refugee in their own country." Based on four resolutions of the UN Security Council issued in the early '90s, Mammadyarov urged that Armenian troops be withdrawn from the Azerbaijani territories and expressed his gratitude to those countries that show solidarity with Azerbaijan on this issue.
The Kyrgyz Presidential Press Office stated that Turkish President Abdullah Gül, who is in Azerbaijan to attend the Turkic Council, and Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev met in Gabala to discuss bilateral ties. The leaders' meeting was closed to the public.
Gül also had a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart, İlham Aliyev. In the meeting, which lasted nearly 45 minutes, Gül was accompanied by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım and Turkey's ambassador to Azerbaijan, Alper Coşkun.
Gül is also expected to meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.