Erdogan accuses Russia of siding with Armenia on Karabakh

By Asbarez | Thursday, 07 April 2016

ANKARA—Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Russia of siding with Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying Moscow was meddling as it had in Ukraine and Syria, reported Hurriyet Daily News.

Erdogan also accused Armenia of not sticking to a truce with Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan in the territory.

“I hope the steps taken by Azerbaijan to end fighting will be imitated by Armenia, but this is not the case right now,” said Erdogan about the territory, which was captured from Azerbaijan by Armenian separatists in an early 1990s war.

Erdogan earlier expressed his support for Azerbaijan and declared that “Karabakh will one day return to its original owner.”

“Russia says that Turkey is taking sides. If we are looking for someone who is taking sides, it is Russia,” Erdogan said.

“Russia likes taking sides; it has done so in Ukraine, Georgia and today in Syria,” he added.

“You say you are in Syria at the invitation of the regime. You are not obliged to go there. If you do, take the side of the oppressed, not the oppressor,” said Erdoğan.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have a tight military alliance through the 2010 Agreement on Strategic Partnership and Mutual Support which commits both sides to use all resources in the case of a military attack.


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