Erdoğan: Turkey to support Azerbaijan by all means

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Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan with all means in its conflict with Armenia over occupied Upper Karabakh, President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

"As Turkey, we will continue to support our Azerbaijani brothers with all means with all our hearts in line with the principle of 'two states, one nation'," Erdoğan said during his speech at the opening of the Turkish parliament's fourth legislative session of its 27th term in the capital Ankara today (October 1).

Erdoğan noted that permanent peace could only be achieved in the region "if Armenia withdraws from occupied Azerbaijani territories."

"Efforts to slander Turkey [...] also won't be able save the Armenian administration," Erdoğan said.

He warned countries supporting "rogue state" Armenia in its occupation of Upper Karabakh would "answer to the common conscience."

In his opening speech, parliament speaker Mustafa Şentop said that "Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan in its rightful cause."

He recalled relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan are exemplary.

"The principle of 'two states, one nation,' is not only a slogan or a historical resolve but also a principle that dominates Turkey-Azerbaijan relations," he noted.

Border clashes broke out on September 27 as both sides have accused each other of starting the fighting.

Azerbaijan's parliament declared a state of war in some of its cities and regions following Armenia's border violations and attacks in the occupied Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, region.

On Monday, Azerbaijan declared partial military mobilization amid the clashes.

The Constitutional Court

Erdoğan alsı expressed support for Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli for his statements about the Constitutional Court.

"If the parliament goes for a restructuring regarding the Constitutional Court, I will join this with pleasure," he said.

Behçeli suggested yesterday that the top court should be "restructured in accordance with the nature of the new government system."

"Recent decisions of the Constitutional Court are painful and crooked. In the name of rights violations, irreparable damage is done to national rights and the sense of justice," he said.

Parlamento, AYM'yle ilgili yeni bir yapılanmaya giderse yeni bir adım atarsa seve seve ben de buna katılırım

The Eastern Mediterranean crisis

Erdoğan said Turkey favored resolving "on an equitable basis" the ongoing disputes over the Eastern Mediterranean's political and economic potential.

Accusing the EU of becoming an "ineffective" and "shallow," structure, he argued that the bloc was "enslaved" by two of its members, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration.

There are no crises in our region that were resolved with the EU's involvement, Erdoğan added.

"On the contrary, every crisis in which the union intervened has escalated with new dimensions," he said.

Tensions have been running high for weeks in the Eastern Mediterranean, as Greece has disputed Turkey's energy exploration.

Turkey -- the country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean -- sent out drillships to explore for energy on its continental shelf, asserting its own rights in the region, as well as those of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Ankara has repeatedly urged negotiations with no preconditions to reach a fair sharing of the region's resources. (AS/VK)