On 2 March, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu held a meeting with the OSCE Minsk group co-chairs in Ankara to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations, reported the Armenian Radio Free Europe.
According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Cavusoglu told them that they should do more to resolve the Karabakh conflict. He said the conflict’s resolution “should be in full respect of the sovereignty, the territorial integrity and the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan,” reported the ministry.
Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan responded scathingly to Cavusoglu, tweeting a quote from the Gospel of Luke: “Physician, heal thyself!” The spokesperson of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anna Naghdalyan also responded to Cavusoglu’s statement. “With its unfriendly policy towards Armenia and the Armenian people, which in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict also takes the form of unilateral military support for Azerbaijan, Turkey cannot play any role in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process,” she said.
Azerbaijan’s MFA also responded to the statements made from Armenia. “In fact, with such an absurd position, the Armenian side puts itself in a rather ridiculous position,” said the spokesperson of the Azerbaijani MFA Leyla Abdullayeva. According to her, events occurring in and around the region are either outside of their vision and analysis, or emotions re-dominate. “It could have helped construct a constructive approach to their relationship. Turkey is an active participant in all projects and processes in the region and is interested in the soonest resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Turkey has been a permanent member of the OSCE Minsk Group since its inception and has always been active in its work, as well as in consultations with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,” she added.
Successive Turkish governments have lent full and unconditional support to Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict. They have also made the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations conditional on a Karabakh settlement acceptable to Baku. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed this policy when he visited Baku in February (Caucasus Watch reported).
