Turkey sides with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Armenia
“Armenia, which has added a new one to its attacks on Azerbaijan, has once again proven that it is the biggest threat to peace and serenity in the region. The Turkish nation continues to stand by its Azerbaijani brothers and sisters with all its means, as it has always done.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a statement on his Twitter account regarding Armenia’s attacks on Azerbaijan. The President said:
“Armenia, which has added a new one to its attacks on Azerbaijan, has once again proven that it is the biggest threat to peace and serenity in the region. The Turkish nation continues to stand by its Azerbaijani brothers and sisters with all its means, as it has always done.
“Let me underline that we strongly condemn the attacks carried out by Armenia against friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan. I wish Allah’s mercy upon our Azerbaijani brothers who died a martyr’s death while protecting their homeland and a speedy recovery to the wounded. We are concerned that the tensions that have been going on in the region since the invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh will turn into a conflict because of Armenia’s reckless and systematic attacks. Moreover, this last attack was not carried out on Nagorno-Karabakh line but directly on the borders between the countries and with heavy weapons.”
The President noted: “Turkey will never hesitate to stand against any attack on the rights and lands of Azerbaijan, with which it has deep-rooted friendly ties and brotherly relations. It is our duty to accordingly mobilize all our political, diplomatic and social ties in the region and the world.”
The international community, which fails to take the necessary and sufficient stand against Armenia’s provocative aggression, has once again shown its double standard. The Minsk Group as well, which has been displaying a negligent attitude for nearly 30 years, is unfortunately far from adopting a solution-oriented approach. While we urge the Armenian people to protect their future against their government, which drags them into a tragedy, and against those who use it like a puppet, we call on the entire world to stand by Azerbaijan in its struggle against occupation and oppression. As I said to my brother Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, the sagacious and determined stance of whom I once again witnessed during our phone call today, Turkey will increasingly maintain its solidarity with its Azerbaijani brothers and sisters with the understanding of ‘one nation, two states’.” Erdogan official website release.
VOA weighs in:
Turkey Vows Support for Azerbaijan in Escalating Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
By Dorian Jones
Turkey says it will back Azerbaijan with all means necessary as fighting entered a second day Monday between Azeri and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, in a sign the conflict could be widening.
Monday saw Azeri and Armenian forces exchange heavy artillery fire, with each accusing the other of starting the hostilities Sunday. Observers called the latest fighting over Nargono Karabakh, an enclave inside Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians, the worst since the 1990s.
Witness reports put the number of dead, including civilians, at more than 20 and at least 100 wounded.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to voice support for Azerbaijan, labeling Armenia “the biggest threat to peace in the region.” The Turkish leader called on “the entire world to stand with Azerbaijan in their battle against invasion and cruelty.”
The Armenian foreign ministry on Monday said Turkish military “experts” were “fighting side by side with Azerbaijan.” Turkish government officials declined to comment on the accusations.
“Turkey troops will not be on the front line, Azeri forces don’t need them,” said Turkish analyst Ilhan Uzgel. But Uzgel says Ankara remains Baku’s key military ally.
“Turkey is already supporting Azerbaijan militarily,” he said, “through technical assistance through arms sales, providing critical military support, especially in terms of armed drones and technical expertise. The line for Turkey’s involvement, is Russia’s involvement; actually, that is a red line for Turkey. Turkey doesn’t want a direct confrontation with Moscow.”
Moscow is a vital supporter of Yerevan, and maintains a military base in Armenia.
The Russian foreign ministry on Monday called for Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise restraint.
“Armenian-Russian relations are firm and solid,” said Dr. Zaur Gasimov, a Russian affairs expert at Germany’s Bonn University. “Now, having faced with casualties on the front line, Yerevan would search for more support from Moscow.”
Ahead of Sunday’s outbreak of fighting, Baku had accused Moscow of emboldening Yerevan with significant arms shipments since July.
“500 tonnes of military cargo has been delivered to Armenia. Let us be clear, from Russia,” said Hikmat Hajiyev, head of Azerbaijan department of foreign affairs, in a briefing to foreign journalists in Turkey earlier this month.
Hajiyev highlighted the significance of Turkey’s military assistance. “We have seen firm and strong support of Turkey to Azerbaijan. Annually, we have 10 joint military exercises covering land troops, anti-terror special forces operations, and air force exercises.”
In what observers interpreted as a message to Armenia, Turkish fighter jets carried out an exercise in Azerbaijan shortly after Armenian and Azeri forces clashed in July.
Energy interests
July’s fighting in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz region was close to crucial energy pipelines that serve Turkey, causing alarm in Ankara.
“This is a very core security issue for Turkey for energy security,” said a senior Turkish energy ministry official speaking to journalists on the condition of anonymity. The official said Turkey “will take any relevant measures” to continue receiving energy deliveries from Azerbaijan.
Ankara has long supported Baku in its efforts to retake Nagorno-Karabakh, and Erdogan on Monday asserted that if Armenia immediately leaves the territory that he said it is occupying, the region will return to peace and harmony.
Restoring Azeri control over Nagorno-Karabakh has the strong support of Turkish nationalists, a critical political base for Erdogan.
“Two nations, one people” is a popular mantra used by Baku and Ankara to describe the countries’ relationship.
Armenian separatists seized Nargono Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a bloody 1990s war that killed an estimated 30,000 people.
Turkey appears poised to deepen its cooperation with Azerbaijan, analysts say.
“But it’s quite a risky area,” says Uzgel, “The Caucasus, it’s one of Russia’s near abroad, the Caucuses is part of Russian area of influence. They may not tolerate Turkish Azerbaijani military action against Armenia that results in heavy Armenian losses. If Turkey and Azerbaijan are planning to have a huge success through military means, that could put Turkish Russian relations at serious risk.”
In recent years, Ankara and Moscow have deepened their relationship, cooperating in Syria and building trade ties that even extend to the purchase of sophisticated Russian military hardware.