Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 17 /Trend, A.Akhundov/
In case of a war with Armenia, Azerbaijan can rely on the support of Turkey, Turkish MP Onur Oymen told Trend on Thursday.
"Turkey will support Azerbaijan in all conditions. We must return the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, it is our friendly, fraternal, human duty. Turkey can not remain silent when the Azerbaijani territories remain occupied, and we always talk about it," said the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Republican People's Party Oymen.
According to him, Turkey's position regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will remain unchanged regardless of which party is in power in the country.
"The issue of Azerbaijan is not a governmental, but a national question for us. No government can go against the feelings and desires of the people. Nagorno-Karabakh issue is a problem of a national scale like Cyprus for the Turkish people," said Oymen.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Turkish leaders at various levels have repeatedly stated that Turkey supports Azerbaijan's fair position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Turkish authorities have repeatedly stated that Turkish parliament will not ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols unless the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved.
According to Oymen, the Armenian-Turkish protocols should be withdrawn from the Parliament.
In April, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement protocols. The protocols were signed by both countries' foreign ministers in October last year.
Sargsyan said they were suspended in the country's "national interests."
Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey were severed due to Armenia's claims of an alleged genocide, and its occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The border between the two countries has been closed since 1993.