CHP says Armenia’s attacks against Azerbaijan act of terror

ANKARA

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has described military attacks by the Armenian army against Azerbaijan as an “act of terror,” suggesting that Turkey should give all the possible support to its “best regional ally” for the resolution of the problem in line with international law.

“We cannot approve Armenia’s behavior that threatens regional peace. This [attack] is a blatant violation of international law, an act of terror,” Faik Öztrak, the spokesperson of the CHP, said late Sept. 28 after a weekly meeting at the party.

The Armenian occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan has been an open wound for three decades and posing a continued risk to regional peace and stability, Öztrak said. “The geography where the clashes are taking place is of strategic importance for our country’s link with the Caucasus. It’s in the proximity of some important international strategic installations, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.”

“For all these reasons, we as the Republic of Turkey should evaluate the incidents in a careful and meticulous way. We should lend all sorts of support to Azerbaijan to resolve the issue on the basis of international law,” he stated.

Armenia must withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani territories it has been occupying, Öztrak stressed, vowing the CHP’s full support to the Azeri people and Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Spokesperson Ömer Çelik slammed a statement made by Ünal Çeviköz, a former ambassador and currently a chief foreign policy adviser to CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who made claims about Turkey’s arms aid to Azerbaijan and said Ankara was dispatching “jihadist groups” to Azerbaijan in the fight against Armenia.

Çelik strongly condemned Çeviköz as an “anti-Turkey immoral provocation,” saying, “The purpose of these lies which have been disseminated by Armenia’s foreign minister and its ambassador to Moscow is clear. It’s meaningful that the CHP spokesman brings these lies to the agenda spontaneously.”

Armenia is trying to break the solidarity between Turkey and Azerbaijan, he said. “We are hearing the same lies from the CHP. This similarity is shameful.”

When asked about Çeviköz’s words, Öztrak said, “I have openly expressed our stance on Azerbaijan in my introductory remarks [at the press conference]. I repeat once again, we, as the CHP, will continue to stand with our Azerbaijani brothers.”