Turkish, UK leaders discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia row
ISTANBUL
The Turkish president and British prime minister in a phone call on Sept. 28 discussed a range of issues including the Azerbaijan-Armenia tension and the Eastern Mediterranean, an official statement said.
"Armenia should withdraw from the territories it occupied in and around Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh for peace and stability in the region," Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, according to Turkey's Communications Directorate.
Border clashes broke out early Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions in the occupied region.
Touching upon bilateral ties and regional developments, Erdogan told Boris Johnson that both Turkey and the U.K. have mutual interest in Britain exhibiting a balanced and impartial stance on Eastern Mediterranean, supporting dialogue and cooperation.
Tensions have been running high for weeks as Greece has disputed Turkey's energy exploration in the region.
Turkey - the country with the longest coastline on the Mediterranean - sent out drill ships to explore for energy on its continental shelf, asserting the rights Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have in the region.
To reduce tensions, Ankara has called for dialogue to ensure fair sharing of the region's resources.
Reiterating their determination to increase trade and investments, and reach the target of $20 billion trade volume, both the leaders also agreed to strengthen defense cooperation.
Azerbaijan leader hails Turkish support against Armenia
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev thanked his Turkish counterpart Monday for support against Armenia's border violations in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the president and foreign policy chief for Azerbaijan's Presidency, said Baku welcomed Erdoğan’s remarks calling on Armenia to immediately end the occupation of Azerbaijani territories.
Erdoğan, has strongly condemned the attack and shown absolute support, Hajiyev said.Azerbaijan always stands by Turkey based on the "two states, one nation" principle, he quoted Aliyev as saying.
Azeri-Armenian forces deploy heavy artillery
Meanwhile, Armenian and Azeri forces deployed heavy artillery on Sept. 29 in the latest fighting over the occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh, they both said.
The Azeri defense ministry said the opposing forces attempted to recover lost ground by launching counter-attacks in
the directions of Fizuli, Jabrayil, Agdere and Terter.
The ministry said in a statement that in the morning there was fighting around Fizuli city and the Armenian army shelled
the Dashkesan region on the border between the two countries, miles away from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia denied those reports but reported fighting throughout the night and said that the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh's army repelled attacks in several directions along the line of contact.