Turkey praises Azerbaijan on Karabakh victory
ANKARA
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has congratulated Azerbaijan on liberating occupied territories, calling a deal on Nagorno-Karabakh a “great victory” for Baku.
“We will continue to stand with Azerbaijan. This [deal] is a great success and victory for Azerbaijan. Lands that have been under occupation for 30 years are being liberated,” Çavuşoğlu said at a press conference with his Kyrgyz counterpart, Ruslan Kazakbayev.
He said that Turkey is in contact with the parties on monitoring the deal to end the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Çavuşoğlu, who also held a telephone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on Nov. 10, suggested a possible Turkish role in the monitoring of the ceasefire, saying talks were ongoing.
“Now there is the issue of how this [ceasefire] will be monitored and controlled. Our talks continue on these issues. “
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed the initiative in a phone call, Aliyev’s office said. They have congratulated each other on Azerbaijan`s victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, following the peace deal that ended the long-term military conflict with Armenia.
Aliyev once again thanked Erdoğan and the Turkish people for their political and moral support to Azerbaijan during the war that resumed on Sept. 27.
During the phone conversation, the sides hailed the establishment of a Turkish-Russian peacekeeping center to monitor the ceasefire and expressed confidence that this center will contribute to ensuring lasting peace in the region.
Turkish officials applauded Baku over its victory throughout the day. “Karabakh is now free. Karabakh is Azerbaijan. Turkey will remain by Azerbaijan’s side both in the field and on the table,” Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın tweeted.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey will continue to stand by Azerbaijan during the process of the return of all Azerbaijani lands occupied by Armenia, of maintaining peace in the region, and meeting the conditions of the cease-fire.
“We congratulate the victory of our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters who have fought for a right struggle to reclaim their own lands that have been occupied for nearly 30 years, and to end Armenia’s barbarous attacks,” Akar said on Twitter.
