Escalation in the zone of the Karabakh conflict: a glance from TurkeyThe recent escalation in the zone of the Karabakh conflict connected to the downing of the Armenian military helicopter on November 12 remains in the center of attention of the sides of the conflict and of neighboring Turkey.Turkish experts and politicians in interviews with VK commented on the situation.According to the deputy head of the Republican People's Party of Turkey Faruk Loğoğlu, the recent events have concerned the Turkish public, which does not want an escalation of the conflict. "The airspace of Azerbaijan was violated and it could not have reacted otherwise" he said, adding that he does not understand the international commentators "who instead of condemning the actions of Armenia try to justify them."He also said that in Turkey there are many supporters of regulations of Turkish-Armenian relations that would lead to the opening of the borders and would eventually affect not only Armenia but also the entire South Caucasus.A Turkish political scientist, the director of the Kafkassam Center for Strategic Research Hasan Oktay, said that Turkey is observing the recent events with great attention, although it does not have enough instruments to regulate the conflict while all the questions are resolved within the OSCE Minsk group. He said that Azerbaijan's attempts to resolve the problem diplomatically do not bring any results, therefore a military resolution has to stay on the agenda. "The events with the helicopter should be considered in the context of the possibility of a military resolution of the conflict," he said.He added that "Turkey is ready to cooperate with Armenia only after Armenia takes concrete steps towards regulating the Karabakh conflict."
The recent escalation in the zone of the Karabakh conflict connected to the downing of the Armenian military helicopter on November 12 remains in the center of attention of the sides of the conflict and of neighboring Turkey.
Turkish experts and politicians in interviews with VK commented on the situation.
According to the deputy head of the Republican People's Party of Turkey Faruk Loğoğlu, the recent events have concerned the Turkish public, which does not want an escalation of the conflict. "The airspace of Azerbaijan was violated and it could not have reacted otherwise" he said, adding that he does not understand the international commentators "who instead of condemning the actions of Armenia try to justify them."
He also said that in Turkey there are many supporters of regulations of Turkish-Armenian relations that would lead to the opening of the borders and would eventually affect not only Armenia but also the entire South Caucasus.
A Turkish political scientist, the director of the Kafkassam Center for Strategic Research Hasan Oktay, said that Turkey is observing the recent events with great attention, although it does not have enough instruments to regulate the conflict while all the questions are resolved within the OSCE Minsk group. He said that Azerbaijan's attempts to resolve the problem diplomatically do not bring any results, therefore a military resolution has to stay on the agenda. "The events with the helicopter should be considered in the context of the possibility of a military resolution of the conflict," he said.
He added that "Turkey is ready to cooperate with Armenia only after Armenia takes concrete steps towards regulating the Karabakh conflict."
