Turkey favours permanent solution to Karabakh row

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discusses the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Armenia-occupied Karabakh with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over a phone call.

Russia's President Putin and Turkey's President Erdogan shake hands during a news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia, March 5, 2020.
Reuters

Russia's President Putin and Turkey's President Erdogan shake hands during a news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia, March 5, 2020.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Ankara is in favour of a permanent solution to the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict over occupied Karabakh within the framework of its status in the Minsk Group and the bilateral relations.

The two leaders had discussed the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict in a phone call on Wednesday, according to a statement from Turkey’s Directorate of Communications.

Armenia, which created a new crisis by attacking Azerbaijani territories, is trying to make its nearly 30-year occupation permanent, Erdogan said.

Loading...

Also addressing the Syrian crisis, the Turkish president stressed that the momentum reached in the process of political solution on the crisis must be maintained. The duo also discussed the latest situation in Libya.

The clashes began on September 27 when Armenian forces targeted civilian Azerbaijani settlements and military positions in the region, leading to casualties.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, Azerbaijan region.

The OSCE Minsk Group – 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.

READ MORE: Fighting intensifies in occupied-Karabakh as civilian casualties mount

Loading...

Some 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory has remained under Armenian occupation for some three decades.

The two states agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire taking effect on Saturday for the exchange of prisoners and retrieval of bodies in occupied Karabakh.

The truce came after a trilateral meeting in Moscow on Friday between the foreign ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

But Armenian forces on Sunday launched a missile strike on Azerbaijan's second-largest city Ganja – although the region is outside the frontline zone – killing 10 civilians and injuring 35.

Many world powers, including Russia, France, and the US, have urged a new ceasefire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defence and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.

Route 6