Turkey to Continue Providing Support to Azerbaijan After Conflict in Karabakh – Erdogan
MOSCOW, December 9- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday that his country will continue supporting Azerbaijan and described the recent conflict in the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh as “liberation.” Earlier in the day, the Turkish leader held a press conference in Ankara’s Eseboga Airport prior to his departure for Baku where…
MOSCOW, December 9 (Sputnik) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday that his country will continue supporting Azerbaijan and described the recent conflict in the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh as “liberation.”
Earlier in the day, the Turkish leader held a press conference in Ankara’s Eseboga Airport prior to his departure for Baku where Erdogan will take part in celebrations of what Azerbaijan sees as its victory in a decades-old conflict with Armenia over the disputed region.
“By siding with Azerbaijan, Turkey contributed to the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian occupation. Our support to Azerbaijan will continue in the upcoming period,” Erdogan said as quoted by the Daily Sabah newspaper.
The president shrugged off a potential threat of EU sanctions over Ankara’s maritime border dispute with Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“EU’s proposed sanctions on Turkey would not be a major problem for us. EU has already been imposing sanctions on Turkey from time to time for years now,” Erdogan stated.
The Turkish leader also supported the potential presidential bid of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main opposition party in the country.
“CHP Chair Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy for the presidency would be an accurate decision for his party and himself,” Erdogan said.
On November 10, the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh after weeks of hostilities in the area. Under the agreement, brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkey-backed Baku retained control of the territories seized during the recent armed conflict.
