As clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan continue, Armenian officials accused Turkey of directly intervening in the conflict by supplying weaponry and soldiers to its enemy.
“Turkish military experts are fighting side by side with Azerbaijan, who are using the Turkish weapons, including UAVs and warplanes,” the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a September 28 statement. “According to credible sources, Turkey is recruiting and transporting foreign terrorist fighters to Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Turkey provides full political and propaganda support to Azerbaijan at the highest level of its leadership.”
Turkey’s authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an on Monday, September 28 demanded Armenia to end its ‘occupation’ of the region.
“Armenia once again showed that it is the biggest threat to peace and tranquillity in the region,” tweeted Erdo?an. “As always, the Turkish nation stands by its Azerbaijani brothers with all its capabilities.”
Erdogan reportedly said that it was time to put an end to the crisis that initially started with the occupation of Nagorny Karabakh.
Supporting Azerbaijan, the Islamist leader Erdogan said that once Armenia “immediately leaves” the territory it is “occupying”, the region will again be peaceful and harmonious. However, both Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at odds for several decades over the territorial dispute that has claimed thousands of lives.
Meanwhile, reports said that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has sent his troops to fight alongside the Turkish military and Azerbaijan army in Agdam. As per a telephonic conversation between two locals in the area, Free News.AM reported that two Azerbaijanis mentioned about the presence of Pakistanis in the territory.
“How can we write? I don’t have money. We are fine, don’t worry, 7-8 villages were liberated, don’t be afraid… Yes. I know. I have seen on Instagram that Fizuli, Agdam have been liberated from occupation. Our side says that we have also taken Mrav mountain. On Agdam’s side, they have gathered Pakistani soldiers and have taken them towards Agdam,” the locals were heard telling each other.
Pakistan was also the second country after Turkey to recognise Azerbaijan’s sovereignty in 1991, and has since then maintained healthy military relations with the country.
“Pakistan stands with the brotherly nation of Azerbaijan and supports its right of self-defence,” the Pak Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We support Azerbaijan’s position on Nagorno-Karabakh, which is in line with several unanimously adopted UN Security Council resolutions,” it added.
Even though India traditionally shares a good relationship with both the countries, its strategic ties with Armenia have deepened further for few years.
Recently, India secured a $40 million defence deal with Armenia for supplying four SWATHI weapon locating radars.
Speaking to a media last year on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan said, “In the Kashmir issue we fully defend the Indian position and it is our firm position.”
Historically, Islamist Turkey strongly supports the Islamic Azerbaijan and maintains poor relations with Christian Armenia. Turkish officials and media have been eulogizing the Azerbaijani military offensive with unprecedented enthusiasm and frenzy.
Around 100 years ago, between 1914 and 1923, the Ottoman Caliphate systematically carried out the mass murder of Christians. In the Armenian Genocide, also known as Armenian Holocaust, over 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were exterminated. The intervention of Turkey in the clashes is seen against this backdrop.
So far, over 100 people have been killed in the brutal war, of which around 20 are civilian casualties
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