CURIOS MISTAKE

This text is from Council of Europe official website. They wrote that Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers Mr Davutoğlu said. “Last year, when I signed the protocols between Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations, we fully intended to meet three objectives… The third is to normalize relations in the South Caucasus, which means normalization between Turkey and Armenia but also between Turkey and Azerbaijan.”


Actually he said “but also between Armenia and Azerbaijan”.

Whole text


Mrs. ZOHRABYAN (Armenia) said that Armenian-Turkish relations had reached an impasse. Turkey now held the Presidency of the Council of Europe. She asked whether Turkey, in that position, would be able to continue to violate the fundamental values of the Council of Europe.
THE PRESIDENT – Thank you Mrs. Zohrabyan. Would you like to answer that question Mr Davutoğlu?
Mr DAVUTOĞLU – I will have to answer this question as the Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs. We discuss all these matters with our neighbors in a very open manner. Last year, when I signed the protocols between Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations, we fully intended to meet three objectives. The first was to start a process to normalize our relations with Armenia as two friendly nation states, not only to open the border, but to have the most open relations between the two of us like those which we have with our other neighboring states. That applies to Armenia as well. Secondly, we tried to start a new era between Turks and Armenians on historical reconciliation based on a just memory. The third is to normalize relations in the South Caucasus, which means normalization between Turkey and Armenia but also between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan also is a member country. It is also a violation of our main values if a member country occupies 20% of the territory of another country. If we respect all the values of the Council of Europe, I am sure that one day we will have a very peaceful atmosphere in South Caucasus. We will have excellent relations between Turkey and Armenia, perhaps even better than with other neighbors. We will have a historic reconciliation between Turks and Armenians wherever they are. In our foreign policy, we see no threat or enemy. There are two categories of country around us – friends and potential friends. Today, all the other countries are friends with us and we see Armenia as a potential friend, and if they also accept that they want to see friends around them, including Azerbaijan and others, that zone of the Council of Europe in South Caucasus will be one of peace, prosperity and stability. That is our objective, and I am sure that with the wise leadership of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey we will one day achieve it despite all the difficulties.