Azerbaijani president says Turkey should be in Nagorno-Karabakh talks

ANKARA

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Oct. 14 that Turkey should be involved in talks on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and that the conflict cannot be solved without Ankara's involvement.

In an interview with private broadcaster Habertürk, Aliyev also said that Turkish F-16 jets were in Azerbaijan, but that they were not being used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Aliyev also said that  Armenia was trying to attack gas pipelines in Azerbaijan and that the outcome will be severe if Armenians try to take control of them.

"Armenia is trying to attack and take control of our pipelines," Aliyev said.

"If Armenia tries to take control of the pipelines there, I can say that the outcome will be severe for them," he added.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been strained since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

New clashes erupted Sept. 27, and since then Armenia has continued attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces.

Russia has taken a leading role in diplomacy in the heaviest fighting, with the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers agreeing on Oct. 10 to a ceasefire after 11 hours of talks in Moscow.

But the ceasefire has not held, with many countries urging both parties to implement it.