Minsk Group chairs brain dead: Turkish parliament speaker
BAKU
The Minks Group, composed of the United States, Russia, and France is brain dead, Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop has said, suggesting that a war is “legitimate” when a country is trying to liberate its lands from occupation.
Şentop addressed the Azerbaijani Parliament on his third day in Baku, where he was accompanied by a large parliament delegation to lend support to Azerbaijan in the ongoing conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The Minsk Group has not shown will to solve the problem. In addition, one of these co-chairs being totally unaware of article 51 of the U.N. Charter that stipulates the right to self-defense, has accused Turkey and Azerbaijan of attacking Nagorno-Karabakh, part of the Azerbaijani territories. If that’s the case, just like his description of other organizations, the Minsk Group is brain dead,” Şentop told Azerbaijani lawmakers, in a obvious reference to French President Emmanuel Macron, who had suggested that NATO was brain dead last year.
France has been one of the Minsk Group co-chairs since 1994 but Azerbaijani officials voice their rejection of Paris’ role because of its obvious support to Armenia.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has turned into an acute problem because of Armenia’s non-reconciliatory attitude, Şentop said, accusing Yerevan of trying to institutionalize its occupation of Azerbaijani lands through state politics.
“This terror state, rogue state as the international law defines, has continued its attacks against the civilians despite the humanitarian truce brokered in Moscow,” he said, recalling these acts as war crimes.
Şentop reiterated that the only solution to the problem is the withdrawal of the Armenian troops from the Azerbaijani territories and called on the international powers who support Yerevan to give up “playing a dangerous game” in the Caucasus.
“Turkey will continue to stand with its brothers in its rightful cause and defense of their homeland as it has until today,” he said.