Turkey’s Erdogan says Azerbaijan’s ‘struggle’ with Armenia will continue

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on a visit to Azerbaijan Thursday said Baku’s “struggle” with enemy Armenia was not over after his close ally’s decisive victory over a disputed region.

“Azerbaijan’s saving its lands from occupation does not mean that the struggle is over,” Erdogan said during a military parade in Baku.

Read more: Malta seizes record $85 mln cocaine haul bound for Libya

“The struggle carried out in the political and military areas will continue from now on many other fronts.”

Turkey backed its Azerbaijan during recent clashes with Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

An alleged Azeri artillery strike towards the positions of Armenian separatists in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh on September 28, 2020. (AFP)

Hostilities erupted on September 27 and ended six weeks later with a Moscow-brokered deal under which Armenia ceded to Baku parts of the disputed territory and Azerbaijan’s adjacent districts it controlled since the 1990s.

Ankara was widely accused of dispatching mercenaries from Syria to bolster Baku’s army, but denied the charge.

Erdogan arrived in Baku to attend nationwide celebrations marking Azerbaijan’s victory in the Karabakh conflict.

In his speech, the Turkish leader also said that “Karabakh’s freedom will be the beginning of a new era” in the region, adding that Armenia must be held responsible for “war crimes” committed during the conflict.

Read more:

Gunmen shoot, kill female TV anchor Malala Maiwand in eastern Afghanistan

Coronavirus: Abu Dhabi to resume all normal activity within two weeks

Bid to stop sales of f-35 jets to UAE fails in US Senate