Your trusted source

Official Stepanakert disregards the recent statement of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu since similar remarks by high-ranking Turkish leaders have become a regular occurrence, David Babayan, the spokesman for the president of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, told Panorama.am.

There were reports earlier that during the 8th Ambassadors Conference in Turkey, FM Cavusoglu responded to a question about the reasons for strained relations with neighbors. He in particular said that Azerbaijan’s problem is also Turkey’s problem and as long as almost 20% of Azerbaijani territories are occupied and the Karabakh problem exists, relations with Armenia cannot be normalized.

“Such statements by high-ranking Turkish officials are hackneyed, but they show the essence of that country. It is an absurd statement – when Turkey speaks about the so-called occupation, one should realize that it is Turkey itself that has occupied foreign territories, appropriated those people’s culture and captured their material assets.  They {Turks] are nonindigenous, came here as nomads, seized others’ territories and, when speaking of justice and occupation, they need to remember their own past and only then make speeches,” Babayan noted.       

He also recalled the crime perpetrated by Turkey against Armenians in the early 20th century and added that the Turkish state has not yet recognized the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

“Isn’t it an occupation, a crime against humanity? Being an aggressive, fascist and artificially created state, Turkey continues to act in the same spirit. This is probably natural because such states should act like this – it is impossible for an occupant to speak about moral norms. Turkey is unwilling to follow a path of repentance, this state is unwilling to understand that it is the only way to ensure the legitimacy of  its existence. Turkey defends another aggressor – Azerbaijan. When Turkey declares that Azerbaijan’s problem is also its problem, it is also an occupation. In other words, Ankara views Azerbaijan as a territory of Turkey,” the spokesman for Karabakh’s president said.