By Adonia Agayan

YEREVAN, August 31 — Turkey will start its second United Nations Security Council presidency on September 1. Turkish news sources confirm that the presidency term is for one month.

Turkey joined the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member in January 2009 and will have the seat until the end of 2010. The council is made up of five permanent members — China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the US — and 10 non-permanent members.

During Turkey’s term presidency a new round of negotiations will be commenced with Iran concerning Iran’s nuclear program. The talks will start with the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) following the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, after September 12. Iran has said that it’s ready to resume long-stalled nuclear talks with world powers in September, despite sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic by the UN Security Council, the US and the European Union.

In addition to the General Assembly meeting and other important Security Council meetings, a Turkish delegation from Ankara will travel to New York City, where they are expected to have numerous talks with various officials. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is also expected to attend the meetings.

Azerbaijan, Turkey’s long-standing ally in the South Caucasus, is expected to introduce a resolution in the UN General Assembly on September 9 that will call for international recognition of the human rights in the “occupied territories of Azerbaijan.” Whether there is a connection between the timeliness of the resolution and  Turkey’s lead on the UN Security Council remains unclear. Yerevan claims that Baku is using the resolution to derail the Nagorno Karabakh peace process.

Yerevan Report