Turkish Azerbaijani relations'Maybe there is a need to redefine. Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation and two states, but the two are not one state. The family is getting crowded,' says a senior foreign policy analyst from TEPAV
Turkish support for Azerbaijan, expressed by keeping the Turkish Armenian border closed, has proved nothing more than a symbolic gesture, says a senior foreign policy analyst.
In addition, poor Turkish Armenian relations have hindered Ankara’s prospects of playing an influential role in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
“For the last 17 years, Turkey’s boycott of Armenia has not brought about a solution. It seems difficult to argue that the insistence on keeping the border with Armenia closed has had any positive impact on the resolution of the Karabakh problem,” Dr. Burcu Gültekin Punsmann wrote in a policy note for the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, or TEPAV, an Ankara-based think tank.
“Moreover, Turkey’s policy has limited Ankara’s potential influence over Armenia,” Dr. Punsmann added. “While being a permanent member of the Minsk group and supporting its work, poor Turkish Armenian relations have hindered Turkey’s prospects of playing an active mediating role in the Karabakh conflict.”
Turkey and Armenia inked two protocols this month to normalize their troubled relationship in defiance of domestic opposition, the first intergovernmental text signed between the two neighboring states since the 1921 Treaty of Kars. The agreement is likely to be a harbinger of different in the south Caucasus, where the status quo, characterized by conflicts, divisions, blockades and trade restrictions, is far from being satisfactory, according to Punsmann.
“The status quo was not helpful for Turkey in terms of achieving its policy objectives,” she wrote. “The status quo is also hardly beneficial for Azerbaijan.”
Turkish support for Azerbaijan, expressed by keeping the Turkish Armenian border closed, has proved nothing more than a symbolic gesture, says a senior foreign policy analyst.
In addition, poor Turkish Armenian relations have hindered Ankara’s prospects of playing an influential role in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
“For the last 17 years, Turkey’s boycott of Armenia has not brought about a solution. It seems difficult to argue that the insistence on keeping the border with Armenia closed has had any positive impact on the resolution of the Karabakh problem,” Dr. Burcu Gültekin Punsmann wrote in a policy note for the Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey, or TEPAV, an Ankara-based think tank.
“Moreover, Turkey’s policy has limited Ankara’s potential influence over Armenia,” Dr. Punsmann added. “While being a permanent member of the Minsk group and supporting its work, poor Turkish Armenian relations have hindered Turkey’s prospects of playing an active mediating role in the Karabakh conflict.”
Turkey and Armenia inked two protocols this month to normalize their troubled relationship in defiance of domestic opposition, the first intergovernmental text signed between the two neighboring states since the 1921 Treaty of Kars. The agreement is likely to be a harbinger of different in the south Caucasus, where the status quo, characterized by conflicts, divisions, blockades and trade restrictions, is far from being satisfactory, according to Punsmann.
“The status quo was not helpful for Turkey in terms of achieving its policy objectives,” she wrote. “The status quo is also hardly beneficial for Azerbaijan.”
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