Турция и Карабахский конфликт

With the successes of Armenian troops in Karabakh, the option of a military intervention into the conflict was widely discussed in Turkish political and military circles. However, in May 1992 a very sharp reaction followed from Moscow: the Chief of General Staff of the Joint CIS Force warned Turkey that such action could unleash a global war. Forced to give up the idea of a military intervention, Turkey continued to provide military as well as economic aid to Azerbaijan. Turkey's support of Azerbaijan was intended, amongst other things, to show its commitment to promoting and protecting Turkic nations and communities. As further proof, the Turkish army and intelligence services launched undercover operations to supply Azerbaijan with arms and military personnel. According to Turkish sources, over 350 high-ranking officers and thousands of volunteers from Turkey participated in the warfare on the Azerbaijani side. Western authors reported several major shipments of weapons from Turkey, including brining an arsenal of Soviet-made arms from former German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Meanwhile Turkish generals were involved in planning battles through a joint effort of the Turkish and Azerbaijani General Staffs. Though negligible compared to Turkey's potential, and implemented in a covert fashion, Turkish military support should not be underestimated in terms of its impact on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Some Turkish moves against Armenia were openly militaristic and aggressive. These included threats to use force; display of force; use of force; blockading Armenia; opening fire at Armenian territory etc.

From 1991 to 1993, the presidents of Central Asian republics made repeated attempts to promote a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev together with Boris Yeltsin organized a meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Russian city of Zheleznovodsk. In summer 1992, Nazarbayev came up with a new mediation initiative. However, just as previous initiatives, this one also failed to bring about a peace agreement.

Alongside military initiatives, Turkey undertook very active diplomatic activities and lobbying in the international organizations; in bilateral and multilateral negotiations, it promoted a pro-Azerbaijani bent of mediation and conflict resolution efforts.

[стр. 227] Turkey and the Karabakh Conflict in 1990s: a Comparative Historical Analysis

Turkey's new interstate-level initiative was to organize 'Turkic Summits' for Turkic nations (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) during the first of which both Turkey and Azerbaijan tried to convince the leaders of Central Asian Turkic republics to adopt a joint statement condemning Armenia's policy in Nagorno-Karabakh, and to sever economic relations with Armenia.

Despite all the pressure, the leaders of Central Asian states refrained from any anti-Armenian initiatives, partly due to their membership in CIS Collective Defense Agreement, and partly to a general pragmatic approach which made them want to keep clear of a conflict happening thousands of miles away. Amongst other things, they declined a joint Turkish-Azerbaijani proposition of imposing an embargo on Armenia.

Because of inter-Turkic discord, the Second Turkic Summit scheduled to take place in Baku in 1993 was only held in Istanbul in October 1994. The final declaration of the Summit only mentioned the need to resolve the Karabakh conflict in accordance with the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council. It should be noted that Azerbaijan failed to get the support it expected from the Turkic republics of Central Asia since the latter were unwilling to damage their relations with Armenia and Russia. The political leadership of Turkic states of Central Asia adopted a very flexible and pragmatic stand, keeping a safe distance from the excessively politicized project of an "All-Turkic Union". The failure of Turkey's initiatives marked a turning point in the relations between Turkey and the Turkic republics of the former USSR, paving the way for a more realistic approach to establishing political and economic relations.

Relations between Turkic republics were further hindered by the tensions between Turkey and Azerbaijan ensuing from Turkish involvement in the attempted coup d'etat in Azerbaijan against President Heydar Aliyev. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan also had a point of dispute: the ownership of several oil fields in the Caspian Sea.