Turkish FM in Azerbaijan as tensions flare over Karabakh

Ankara(ANN)-Turkey’s foreign minister has arrived in Baku for talks over an ongoing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday that he was in Baku “to renew our strong support for dear Azerbaijan and exchange on the latest developments in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Turkey, an ally to Azerbaijan, has promised to support Baku in the conflict and demanded to be included in the negotiations to resolve the decade-long standoff.

Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but is held by ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan since 1992, when they broke from Azerbaijan in a war that killed some 30,000 people.

The conflict re-erupted in late September, becoming the worst fighting in the region in decades.

Following the flare-up, Russia brokered two ceasefires to bring an end to the deadly conflict, but its efforts to bring peace to the mountainous region failed as Yerevan and Baku continued to violate the agreements.

Russia, a close ally to Armenia, said on Saturday that it will provide Yerevan with “all necessary assistance, if clashes take place directly on the territory of Armenia,” according to the foreign ministry.

Russia has a military base in Armenia’s second-largest city of Gyumri.

Source: Presstv