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Turkey and Armenia`s signing of a historic agreement to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders on Saturday, in a bid to end decades of hostility, has angered Azerbaijan.
The Foreign Ministry has issued a strongly worded statement on the agreement signed in Zurich, Switzerland. It said maintaining relations with other countries is a sovereign right of a given state, however the Ankara-Yerevan normalization, prior to a pullout of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, amounts to a direct contradiction with Azerbaijani interests and tarnishes the spirit of fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, which are based upon deep historic roots. ``Having taken into account the importance of opening all borders and communications in the region, Azerbaijan believes that the unilateral opening of the Turkish-Armenian border brings into question the architecture of regional peace and stability,`` the ministry said.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 due to the occupation of Azerbaijani territories and Armenian claims about the alleged World War I-era genocide in the Ottoman Empire. Ankara has repeatedly pledged that the border will not open until the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict has been fairly resolved.
The Azerbaijani government referred to the numerous statements by high-ranking Turkish officials, including those by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, notably his remarks during the May 14, 2009 address in the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani parliament). Erdogan said at that time: ``Turkey shut its border with Armenia after its occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The border may open after the occupation is eliminated. So long as the demands of our Azerbaijani brethren are not met, we will not back a single step away from this stance. This is inter-related and cannot be considered separately.`` A similar statement was made at an Iftar dinner held for Turkish media representatives this past September. Ankara then said the border opening was out of the question until the Garabagh conflict has been settled.
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a war over the mountainous region of Upper Garabagh in the early 1990s which claimed some 30,000 lives. Armenia has been occupying over 20% of Azerbaijan`s territory since then, despite UN resolutions on unconditional pullout of its armed forces and condemnation by a number of other international organizations. One million Azerbaijanis have been displaced as a result of ethnic cleansing and Azerbaijan`s historical and cultural heritage has been significantly damaged in the occupied land. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but the OSCE-brokered peace talks have been largely fruitless so far.

Angry protest
Akif Naghi, chairman of Azerbaijan`s hardline Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO), has described Turkish authorities` signing reconciliation agreements with Armenia, Azerbaijan`s long-time foe, as ``a heavy blow`` and ``betrayal`` of the Azerbaijani cause.
Naghi directed pounding criticism at Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
``Gul, Erdogan and Davutoglu had long been giving us empty promises. They were talking about friendship and brotherhood, but it has now turned out that this was a false stance aimed at deceiving Azerbaijani society,`` Naghi maintained.
He believes the protocols` signing will have bitter ramifications for the settlement of the Garabagh conflict.
``This is not the position of the Turkish people, but a group within the authorities. And, unfortunately, the step taken essentially implies the actual justification of the occupation committed by Armenia against the Azerbaijani people.``
Naghi said the GLO was declaring the Turkish president, premier and foreign minister as ``personas non grata.``
``From now on, visits by any of them to Azerbaijan will be met with utter protests,`` Naghi said.
The GLO protested outside the Turkish embassy in Baku on Tuesday over the signing of Turkey-Armenia protocols. The activists chanted slogans ``Turkey, don`t sell Garabagh to the Armenians``, ``Shame on the Turkish authorities`` and ``Garabagh or death!`` They also burned the photos of the Turkish president, prime minister and foreign minister in protest.
The police dispersed the protest, which lasted only ten minutes. Several protesters, including the GLO chairman, were detained.
A group of Azerbaijani lawmakers left for Turkey on Tuesday to voice protest at the reconciliation agreements. The 11-people-strong delegation is expected to meet with Prime Minister Erdogan and other Turkish officials as well as opposition representatives to convey Azerbaijani concerns.
During their visit, the Azerbaijani lawmakers will state that ratification of the protocols in the Turkish Grand National Assembly prior to a settlement of the Garabagh conflict will not advance, but, on the contrary, adversely affect the peace process.
The signed protocols on mending ties with Armenia will be put on discussion at the Turkish parliament on October 21, government spokesman Cemil Cicek said.
Murad Mercan, chairman of the Turkish parliamentary commission on foreign policy, said adoption of the protocols in the legislature prior to Garabagh settlement was out of the question. ``This is beyond the will of the Grand National Assembly,`` he said.
According to him, parliamentary approval of the papers is possible only after Azerbaijan and Armenia have signed a peace accord before the eyes of the world community and the liberation of the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani territories has begun.
The embassy of Turkey in Baku issued a statement on Monday seeking to appease the Azerbaijani public. It expressed disappointment with the reports about opening of the Turkish-Armenian border circulated by the Azerbaijani media following Saturday`s signing of the protocols with Yerevan. ``We expect the fraternal Azerbaijani people to confide in Turkey and not to trust false and deliberate reports,`` the statement said.
Some Azerbaijani pundits see no grounds for concern over the Turkish-Armenian agreements. ``The protocols` signing does not mean the opening of the border yet,`` analyst Rasim Musabayov says.
According to Musabayov, even if the protocols are ratified by the Turkish parliament, the situation will not drastically change.
``Turkey is a superpower. Even if the border opens, this does not amount to its backing down from its attitude toward Armenia. The border may open, but, further, anything that does not go down well with Turkey might fail. By opening it, Turkey is trying to neutralize the U.S. and other Western countries on the genocide issue.``
Another analyst, Khaladdin Ibrahimli, doubts the Turkish Grand National Assembly will ratify the protocols.
``Prior to taking this step, the parliament will consider whether or not Armenia will relinquish its genocide claims and whether or not it is ready to make concessions on the Garabagh conflict. And Armenians` backing down from their genocide claims does not appear convincing, as this is the main force uniting world Armenians.``
Also, Ibrahimli believes that Turkey cannot set aside Azeri interests and forge cooperation with Armenia.
``I am setting brotherhood aside. Azerbaijan is both flush with hydrocarbon reserves and is a key transit state. How can Turkey forget this factor?`` the pundit asked.

Gist of protocols
The text of the Turkish-Armenian protocol on forging diplomatic ties has been disclosed. It says both countries recognize one another`s existing borders and that agreement has been reached on opening their shared border.
The protocol, made public by Turkey`s Foreign Ministry, envisions establishing good neighborhood relations and expresses a willingness to develop political, economic, cultural and other relations in line with the interests of the Turkish and Armenian nations.
Ankara and Yerevan also pledged to support equality in bilateral and international relations, honor the sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of other states, and non-interference with their affairs.
The two governments also agreed to facilitate creating the environment of mutual confidence, promote peace and stability in the volatile region, refrain from the use of force, work to resolve outstanding problems peacefully, and protect human rights.
They also vowed not to pursue any policy failing to comply with the spirit of good neighborliness.
The sides condemned all forms of terror, violence and fundamentalism and said they would join efforts in countering them.
The two countries also agreed to forge diplomatic ties and open diplomatic offices as soon as the protocols, which comply with the 1961 Vienna accord, go into effect.
Critics further say the Turkish-Armenian agreement fails to take a clear stance on the Garabagh problem.
``We are surprised that in the protocols initiated in Geneva, there is no mention of Upper Garabagh, there is no mention of withdrawal of Armenians from occupied territories,`` Onur Oymen, the deputy head of Turkey`s main opposition Republican People`s Party, told Reuters.
``That`s why there is no guarantee that Armenians will withdraw from occupied lands in case Turkey normalize relations and open the border.``
However, Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu has confirmed that the signing of the agreement does not mean that Ankara has abandoned Azerbaijan.
``We have always supported and stood by Azerbaijan and will never hurt its interests. When we talk about peace in the region, we refer to the liberation of Azerbaijani territories -- not only Garabagh but other regions as well,`` TRT1 TV channel quoted Davutoglu as saying.
Prime Minister Erdogan said his country was showing ``goodwill`` to restore ties with Armenia. But he said Turkey was keen on seeing Armenian troops withdrawn from Garabagh. ``We are trying to boost our relations with Armenia in a way that will cause no hard feelings for Azerbaijan,`` Erdogan told reporters.