Azerbaijani FM praises Turkish support 'in hard times'

By Ruslan Rehimov

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AA) - Support messages from Turkish authorities against Armenia’s attacks are examples of Turkey’s friendship for Azerbaijan in difficult times, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said Thursday.

Bayramov comments came after an attack July 12, when the Armenian army violated a cease-fire and attacked Azerbaijani positions with artillery fire toward the Tovuz border district, withdrawing after losses following retaliation from Azerbaijani’s army.

Armenia martyred 12 Azerbaijani soldiers, including high-ranking officers and one civilian, and wounded four troops.

“When we look deep into the attack, it is clear that this attack is a planned provocation. Numerous states and international organizations supported Azerbaijan,” said Bayramov. “Statements of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, foreign and defense ministers are clear examples of the brotherly Turkish people’s pro-Azerbaijan stance during hard times,” he said, while receiving Turkey’s Ambassador to Baku, Erkan Ozoral.

There is a high level of cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan in all areas, he said, and emphasized that cooperation would continue to develop going forward.

Recent attacks were carried out by Armenians on diplomatic representatives of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis who organized civil demonstrations in the US and European countries, said Bayramov, and he noted in accordance with the Vienna Convention, countries are obliged to ensure the safety of diplomatic representatives’ buildings and diplomats.

Radical Armenian groups abroad have become more active recently and there is a possibility of new provocations to Azerbaijani representatives’ offices, he said.

Since 1991, the Armenian military has illegally occupied the Upper Karabakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) region, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.