Foreign Ministry: Turkish citizens illegal visit to Karabakh not reflect Ankara's official policy
By Trend
Illegal visit of Turkish citizens to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan does not reflect the official policy of Ankara, Turkish Foreign Ministry's spokesman Huseyn Muftuoglu said on September 30.
"Turkey will continue to support Azerbaijan's fair position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", said in a statement.
Without documents and consent from relevant executive authorities, Turkish citizens Ufuk Uras, Ali Bayramoglu, Said Cekinoglu and Erol Katircioglu crossed the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan avoiding checkpoints, that is, deliberately traveled from territory of Armenia and illegally arrived in occupied Khankendi and other settlements on September 22.
Grave Crimes Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office filed a criminal case under Criminal Code’s Article 318.2 (illegally crossing Azerbaijan’s state borders). All four individuals are accused under the abovementioned article. A measure of restraint in the form of arrest was chosen against them. They were declared internationally wanted.
An appeal was sent to the Turkish law enforcement to detain the four individuals.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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