Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

A senior Turkish official has said Azerbaijan preserves the right to take up any political and military struggles to get back its occupied territories.

Turkish Minister for European Union Affairs, Mevlut Cavusoglu said on August 11 that Turkey will always support Azerbaijan, Turkish TRT Haber TV channel reported.

Cavusoglu said Turkey supports peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but Azerbaijan's right to get back the occupied lands through both political and military means is an inalienable right.

He also added that the OSCE Minsk Group should be more active to resolve the conflict, which emerged in 1988 over Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

Armenian armed forces aggravated tensions along the frontline by attacking the Azerbaijani positions. Armenia began to escalate the tensions on the border areas on July 31. Sporadic fighting has continued ever since. Thirteen Azerbaijani servicemen were killed and several others injured during the clashes between two sides.

Armenia hasn't released yet the exact number of casualties.

Turkey cut diplomatic ties and closed its border with Armenia after the country invaded Azerbaijan's territories.

Turkey has set Armenia's withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh and 7 surrounding regions of Azerbaijan as a precondition for establishing diplomatic relations with the country.

Turkey was the first country in the world to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity, and realize its economic potential that arise from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.