BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 5. Relations between Türkiye and Armenia depend on Azerbaijan-Armenia relations, Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar said during a seminar in Ankara, dedicated to events of 1915, Trend reports.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Türkiye's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, allegedly carried out so-called "genocide" against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915.
Akar went on to note that 30 years ago Armenia occupied Azerbaijan's territories.
"As a result of the occupation, more than a million Azerbaijanis were expelled from their native lands. Despite the decisions taken within international law or Azerbaijan's diplomatic and peaceful steps, this problem had not been solved," he said.
Akar added that the inability of the OSCE [Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe] Minsk Group to solve the problem led to the intensification of Armenia's aggression, as a result of which Azerbaijan liberated its lands from occupation during the second Karabakh war in 2020.
"Armenia must accept the hand of peace and friendship extended to it. We also support steps to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The pain of Azerbaijan is our pain, and their joy is our joy. We will always stand with Azerbaijan," Akar said.