Turkey will support Azerbaijan if it wants to solve Karabakh dispute 'on the ground,' says Minister

Photo: AA

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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.

(PT/VK)