After a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran in the Iranian city of Ramsar, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that a number of mass media reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan provoked the war in Nagorno-Karabakh were "black propaganda.’’
"We are disappointed with the comments from brotherly and friendly countries, as they don’t correspond to the reality. We have always been clear on this issue. Ankara advocated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be settled peacefully in the framework of the Azerbaijan's territorial integrity,’’ the Minister of Foreign Affairs explained.
At the same time, he stressed that support for Azerbaijan at the right moment doesn’t mean pushing it to war. According to the minister, the country's position, which comes to occupy the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which belongs to Azerbaijan and then tries to show that Azerbaijan and Turkey are guilty, is incompatible neither with Islam, nor with humanity. "You should be honest and fair. The occupied lands belong to Azerbaijan,’’ Cavusoglu said in an interview with Turkish news agency Anadolu.
He also drew attention to the fact that up to this day the OSCE Minsk Group hasn’t fulfilled its obligations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In addition, Cavusoglu commented on the recent escalation of the conflict, stressing that Armenia violated the ceasefire regime, which led to clashes. "We don’t welcome these clashes. Turkey has always stated that it is ready to support fraternal Azerbaijan. We didn’t hide, but at the same time urge to ensure the ceasefire as soon as possible. This means that Turkey stands for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and we want a political solution. Azerbaijan has supported these initiatives for many years," the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
Recall that all the border posts of Azerbaijan on the night of April 2 were subjected to intense fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and artillery units of the Armenian Armed Forces. In addition, a number of shots were fired at settlements near the frontline, densely populated by civilians.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts (20% of the Azerbaijan's territory) are still occupied by the Armenian armed forces.
In May 1994 the parties reached a ceasefire agreement during negotiations, which are still continuing under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group and co-chairs Russia, France and the US.
The UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions haven't been carried out by Armenia yet.
