‘Armenia’s attitude is a clear violation of law,’ says ruling AKP Spokesperson

* Photo: Esra Hacioğlu/ Anadolu Agency (AA)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Spokesperson Ömer Çelik addressed the reporters during the AKP Central Decision and Executive Board meeting at the party headquarters yesterday (October 13).

Addressing a series of current domestic and international issues in his speech, Çelik has noted that a snap election, which has been recently voiced by the opposition, is "out of the question for the People's Alliance" of the AKP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Çelik has also spoken about the ongoing conflicts between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the South Caucasus.

'Armenia is a rogue state'

Çelik has called on countries not to apply a double standard in favor of Armenia regarding its clashes with Azerbaijan and a ceasefire agreement.

"The ceasefire calls of those who do not raise their voices against Armenia, which is a rogue state, is to put the cruel and the suffering in the same equation, to view the occupying and the occupied [state] equally," Çelik has said. "This is also a clear violation of the law," he has added, underlining that this attitude shows a double standard.

Çelik also stressed that the Minsk Group tries to manage the process by considering Armenia and Azerbaijan on equal levels, but there are no two equals in this issue. "The party that clearly violates international law, including Geneva Convention, is the Armenian side," he has said.

"Armenia attacked the Azerbaijani army and civilians like a rogue state," Ömer Çelik has noted, reiterating that "Turkey stands with Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people in every step they take to defend their territories against Armenia's aggression."

'Turkey must be at the negotiating table'

Reminding that Azerbaijan wants Turkey to be at the negotiation table, AKP Spokesperson Çelik has said that "those who really want the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict to be resolved must also want Turkey to be involved in talks to find a solution and Turkey is ready for this."

Following meetings in Moscow on October 10, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on a humanitarian ceasefire so that the conflicting sides could retrieve bodies left on the battlefield and conduct a prisoner exchange.

While clashes between the two countries broke out on September 27, relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenia's military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.

The OSCE Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by France, Russia and the US, was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A ceasefire, however, was agreed to in 1994.

Many world powers including Russia, France and the US have called for a new ceasefire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku.

'Nothing to achieve through bullying, imposition'

Çelik has also touched upon the escalating tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. He has indicated that "Turkey always views the negotiation table as the best option but it will also fight in an uncompromising way in the field against those who do not want negotiations."

"There is nothing to achieve here through bullying and imposition. Greece needs to understand this," he has added.

Ömer Çelik has also reiterated that "Turkey wants to resolve all issues in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean through diplomacy but the country always has an answer for those who want to use diplomacy for breathing room and to exploit it to create an organization there against Turkey."

In a statement released by Turkey's Foreign Ministry on October 12, it was stated that "renewed efforts of the Oruç Reis seismic research vessel in the Eastern Mediterranean would be within the Turkish continental shelf hundreds of kilometers away from the Greek mainland."

The Foreign Ministry also urged Greece "to withdraw its maximalist demands, end military drills that escalate regional tensions and establish sincere dialogue through exploratory talks."

In August, Turkey resumed energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean after Greece and Egypt signed a maritime delimitation deal.

Declaring the Greek-Egyptian deal "null and void," Turkey authorized the Oruç Reis to continue activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkey has consistently opposed Greece's efforts to declare an exclusive economic zone based on small islands near Turkish shores.

Ankara has also said that energy resources near the island of Cyprus must be shared fairly between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Greek Cypriot administration of southern Cyprus. (EKN/SD)