Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Shentop, who paid an official visit to Azerbaijan on 18 October, has described Armenia’s targeting of civilians as a “source of danger” for Azerbaijan and the whole region.

Shentop said this at a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Baku on 20 October, Azertag reported.

Mustafa Shentop stressed that Armenia's recent attacks, especially the deliberate targeting of civilians, are a source of danger not only for Azerbaijan but also for the whole region. He said that Armenia seeks to expand the geography of the conflict and involve third states in the conflict by shelling the civilians and cities located far from the frontline. The Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly underlined that Turkey is against Armenia's aggressive policy and the position of Turkey is about ensuring peace and security in the region, therefore his country would support Azerbaijan's just position to the end.

Shentop said that his visit to Azerbaijan has been planned before, but it gained special importance taking into account the latest developments in the region. Stressing that Turkey has always stood by friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan, the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly said that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is Azerbaijani territory both historically and legally, and thus emphasized that Azerbaijan's position is just and based on international law.

As part of his official visit, Shentop earlier addressed the Azerbaijani parliament. In his speech, Shentop urged Armenia to withdraw from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.

“To ensure peace and stability in the region, Armenia must withdraw from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The UN Security Council resolutions demanding the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan have not been implemented for many years. The OSCE Minsk Group has demonstrated no will to resolve the conflict,” Shentop said.

“Azerbaijan is liberating its lands from the Armenian occupation in accordance with international law. Turkey will stand by Azerbaijan until the end,” he added. Shentop also visited Ganja city that Armenia attacked with ballistic missiles on September 17, killing 13 people.

Azartag said the visit aimed to get acquainted with the Armenian atrocities - crime scenes of Armenian armed forces’ reckless missile attacks against innocent civilians in the central part of Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, located outside the frontline zone.

Shentop was informed that the aggressor Armenian armed forces continue to subject to heavy artillery fire Azerbaijani civilians, violating the norms and principles of international law, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, as well as the agreement on humanitarian ceasefire which was signed on their persistent requests following the meeting in Moscow.

Peaceful civilians were killed, dozens of other including kids and women were injured in the Armenian missile attacks on 11 October midnight and on 17 October in Ganja, that is far beyond the battlefield. The attacks on densely populated areas with “Tochka-U”, “Smerch”, “Scud” and other missiles is aimed at killing a large number of people.

The Armenian armed forces also subjected to rocket fire the "Azerbaijan" Thermal Power Station, the largest thermal power station in the South Caucasus, as well as the "Mingachevir" Hydroelectric Power Station on October 17.