Sena Guler
October 16, 2020•Update: October 16, 2020
ANKARA
Turkey on Friday strongly condemned the Armenian forces’ attack on Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, according to the Foreign Ministry.
“We strongly condemn the missile attack that Armenia’s armed forces launched from the occupied Gubadli region to Ordubad region of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic,” the ministry said in a statement.
“It is seen that Armenia is getting more aggressive day by day due to the defeats it has suffered in the occupied territories,” it said.
The statement noted that the attack on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic -- which also borders Turkey -- is the “new and dangerous example” of Armenia’s efforts to spread clashes out of the Azerbaijani lands under its occupation.
“Armenia needs to give up on these dangerous provocations,” it added.
The ministry also said Armenia commits a war crime by attacking civilians and violates the humanitarian cease-fire, and “now it tries to carry the conflict to other dimensions.”
“Armenia should evaluate well the consequences of its aggressive actions,” the statement stressed.
It reiterated Turkey’s “full solidarity” with Azerbaijan and its people.
According to Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry, residents and civilian facilities were not affected by the attack on Ordubad.
Upper Karabakh conflict
Clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on Sept. 27 and, since then, Armenia has continued attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces.
A humanitarian cease-fire came into force last Saturday but has been repeatedly violated by Armenian forces.
Armenia even launched a missile strike on Azerbaijan’s second-largest city, Ganja -- an area far from the front line -- on Sunday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 35, including women and children.
Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.
Some 20% of Azerbaijan's territory has remained under illegal Armenian occupation for some three decades.
Multiple UN resolutions, as well as international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.
The OSCE Minsk Group -- co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US -- was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed to in 1994.
Turkey has consistently supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.
