AZERBAIJAN FEARS EUROPE RECOGNIZING NAGORNO KARABAKH REPUBLIC INDEPENDENCE

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has made it clear to the Azeri leadership that Ankara expects official Baku to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Meanwhile, as reported by Echo Baku newspaper, the Parliament of Azerbaijan does not intend to hurry in this question, as it can have a negative impact on the solution of the key problems to the country. According to the source, one should not forget that Azerbaijan has made numerous statements at the highest political level that it pursues a strategic course of future accession to the European Union. Having recognized the independence of the Turkish part of the Cyprus, which is unacceptable to many EU countries, Azerbaijan runs the risk of not only losing all chances of EU membership in the future, but can also find itself not accepted as “new neighbors” of Europe in the near prospect. Besides, Baku fears that unless the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is settled, the establishment of diplomatic relations with Northern Cyprus can turn into some European states, specifically Greece, officially recognizing the sovereignty of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.