Top Turkish diplomat set to visit Azerbaijan

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's foreign minister will embark on a working visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday amid the ongoing border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

During his visit, a ministry statement said, Mevlut Cavusoglu will be received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Cavusoglu will “also exchange view on the present situation in Armenian occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as well as on other current regional and international developments” with his counterpart Ceyhun Bayramov.

The ongoing clashes began on Sept. 27, when the Armenian forces targeted civilian Azerbaijani settlements and military positions in the region, leading to casualties.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Multiple UN resolutions, as well as many international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the invading 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 upon in 1994.

Many world powers, including Russia, France, and the US, have urged an immediate cease-fire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense.