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Azerbaijan has the ability to liberate its occupied lands by itself, however, Turkey will support it if it wants to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute "on the ground," Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.
"Azerbaijan is fighting to protect its own lands. Where in the world are the occupied and occupier treated the same?" Çavuşoğlu told the state-run Anadolu Agency's (AA) Editors' Desk.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan accuse each other for starting the border clashes, which have claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers and civilians since early Sunday (September 27).
Armenia ignored the international system and international law, Çavuşoğlu said, adding that this attitude deserves a response.
Armenia illegally resettled ethnic Armenians from Middle Eastern countries to the Azerbaijani land it occupies in Nagorno-Karabakh, or Upper Karabakh, he said.
Turkey would continue to support Azerbaijan, he added, saying, "We said that if Azerbaijan wants to solve [the Armenian occupation problem] on the ground, we will stand by Azerbaijan."
"Diplomacy hasn't worked for 30 years"
Çavuşoğlu remarked, "diplomacy hasn't worked for 30 years" to solve the conflict in Upper Karabakh, with no solution reached at the negotiating table since Armenia's illegal occupation began in 1991, and this failure served to "encourage" Armenia.
"Despite all the warnings, where does Armenia find its courage?" he asked.
"If Armenia hadn't enjoyed support today from other countries, from the West, Russia, it wouldn't be able to muster up this courage."
Çavuşoğlu slammed the international community for only urging a cease-fire but failing to call Armenia to leave the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
"This is not a proper approach," he added.
France's President Emmanuel Macron showing solidarity with Armenia, while showing no concern about occupied Azerbaijani lands, effectively meant "supporting occupation," said Çavuşoğlu.
Noting that Azerbaijan was in the right both morally and legally, Çavuşoğlu said the international community should support Azerbaijan, just as it supported Ukraine, Georgia, and other countries that have lands under illegal occupation.
The Nagorno-Karabakh disputeRelations between the two former Soviet countries have been tense since 1989 over Nagorno-Karabakh, or Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan. In 1989, the parliament of Azerbaijan removed Nagorno-Karabakh's autonomous status, which had been in place since 1923. During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia began military operations into Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991. In the same year, the separatist administration in Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence. The Azeri people of the region had boycotted the independence referendum. The independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh, or Artsakh republic, is not internationally recognized. Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions as well as many international organizations demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces. The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. A cease-fire was agreed upon in 1994. France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region. |
(PT/VK)
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