Top Turkish officials back Azerbaijan over cross-border clashes with Armenia
By Sabina Mammadli
Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Mustafa Sentop expressed his support for the state and people of fraternal Azerbaijan in connection with the provocations committed by the Armenian armed forces on the border with Azerbaijan.
He made the remarks in a phone conversation with Azerbaijani Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova on September 13.
Further, Sentop expressed condolences in connection with the deaths of Azerbaijani servicemen while preventing the Armenian provocation.
In turn, Gafarova informed her colleague in detail about the provocation committed by Armenia. She noted that the Azerbaijani people always feel the fraternal support of Türkiye.
Similarly, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay expressed solidarity and support for Azerbaijan in a phone call with Azerbaijani counterpart Azerbaijan Ali Asadov.
Oktay offered condolences to Asadov and the entire Azerbaijani people over the death of the country's military servicemen as a result of the large-scale provocations committed by Armenia.
Asadov stressed that Azerbaijan always feels fraternal support from Türkiye, adding that the provocative actions of the Armenian armed forces along the inter-state border were resolutely suppressed.
Moreover, the Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States expressed serious concern and condemned the military provocation of the Armenian Armed Forces along the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The OTS reaffirmed its adherence to the principles and norms of international law and recalled the importance of the normalization and peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the South Caucasus.
Further, the organization reiterated its support for the territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders of its member state Azerbaijan and called on Armenia to comply with the ongoing agreements reached between the two neighboring countries.
The secretariat expressed condolences to the families of the martyrs, the brotherly people, and the government of Azerbaijan over the loss of lives and wished for a speedy recovery of the injured.
To recap, units of the Armenian armed forces carried out large-scale provocations along the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border in the Dashkasan, Kalbajar, and Lachin directions during the night of September 13. At night, Armenian sabotage groups mined land and supply roads linking the positions of the Azerbaijani army units in different directions, taking advantage of the area's steep topography and existing ravine gaps.
The clashes between the sides ensued as a result of the urgent efforts made by the Azerbaijani armed forces to quell these activities.
As a result, Azerbaijan sustained 50 military losses, and the military infrastructure was damaged, the ministry detailed.
The Azerbaijan military units stationed in these areas took decisive retaliatory measures to suppress the provocations of the Armenian armed forces and military threats to Azerbaijan's territory and sovereignty, as well as to ensure the safety of military personnel, including civilian workers involved in infrastructure construction in Kalbajar and Lachin districts, the ministry emphasized.
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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl
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