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In a statement confirming the Turkish intervention in the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday the conditions to declare a ceasefire between his ally Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Erdogan said in a televised speech that a ceasefire would not be possible unless Armenian forces withdraw from the separatist region (Nagorno-Karabakh) and other Azerbaijani lands, according to “AFP”.
“Achieving a permanent ceasefire in this region depends on the withdrawal of Armenians from every inch of Azerbaijani lands,” says his speech.
The confrontation lasted since last Sunday in the autonomous region, and the battles resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries, and the battles exceeded the borders of the region, which heralded an all-out war between the two former Soviet republics.
Turkey entered the battlefield quickly and openly declared its support for its ally Azerbaijan, calling on Armenia to end “the occupation of the Azerbaijani regions”.
Turkey has strategic relations with Azerbaijan, especially in the field of energy and defense, despite the sectarian difference. In the past, she promised to support Baku “to the end” on the issue of the region.
Observers say Ankara also supports Azerbaijan vis-à-vis Armenia, due to its historic anti-Armenian approval.
Yerevan accuses Ankara of interfering in the ongoing battles between Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh region, in the fiercest round of conflict in more than a quarter of a century.
Armenian officials stated that Turkish military commanders direct military operations in the region.
Earlier, Armenian Foreign Minister Zahrab Mnatsakanyan told “Sky News Arabia”. Turkey sends “mercenaries and terrorists” to Azerbaijan to fight the Nagorno-Karabakh forces.
Mnatsakyanian mentioned that Armenia has no preconditions to negotiate with Azerbaijan, unlike the latter, which was the first in the last round of conflict between them.
Azerbaijan demands to regain control of Nagorno-Karabakh, the mainly Armenian mountainous region, whose secession from Baku was not recognized by the international community, not even by Armenia, in 1991.
It is feared that if a direct war breaks out between Azerbaijan and Armenia, two major regional powers, Russia and Turkey, will be embroiled in the conflict.
