Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.30
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
The Nagorno-Karabakh issue is the bleeding wound for Turkey as for Azerbaijan, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with Trend, Azertac and APA.
"Unfortunately, unless Armenia ends occupation of the Azerbaijani territories, this issue will not be resolved," he said.
President Erdogan stressed that the occupation should be immediately ended on the basis of the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders of Azerbaijan.
"We also condemn provocations targeting the civilian population along with Armenia's occupation policy. Such actions can in no way help the peace in the region," he said.
"We believe that the international community, especially the Minsk Group, should work more actively to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. We will continue to stand next with Azerbaijan in this matter, as in every matter."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.