Erdogan, Putin discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

By Rashid Shirinov

Presidents of Russia Vladimir Putin and Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Erdogan summing up the results of his visit to Russia, Star newspaper reported.

He said that it was noted at the meeting that it would be useful for Russia to pay more attention to this issue.

"He [Putin] thinks so himself, but in my opinion, he has no high hopes because of the positions of the parties. I reminded him of the decision taken on the liberation of the five regions and that the Armenian side was supposed to leave these territories,” Haberturk quoted Erdogan.

He noted that the UN Security Council recognized the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, but despite this, the Armenian armed forces do not leave these areas.

“If these areas are liberated, the ancestral inhabitants of these regions can return to their native lands,” Erdogan said.

The talks between the presidents of Russia and Turkey took place on November 13 in Sochi.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Turkey has always supported the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict based on Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the country's internationally recognized borders.

Turkey and Armenia severed diplomatic relations in 1993 due to occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenian Armed Forces and Yerevan’s claims to recognize the so-called Armenian genocide.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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