UPDATE - Azerbaijan's president lends Turkey unwavering support

ADDS TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER'S REMARKS

By Faruk Zorlu and Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) - Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev vowed Wednesday to "stand with Turkey under any circumstances without any hesitation," the Azertac state news agency reported.

Aliyev made the remarks while accepting the credentials of Greece’s newly appointed ambassador to Azerbaijan, Nikolaos Piperigos, at an event in the capital Baku.

"I can tell you, and it is no secret, that Turkey is not only our friend and partner, but also a brotherly country for us. Without any hesitation whatsoever, we support Turkey and will support it under any circumstances," the Azerbaijani leader told Piperigos.

Speaking on the recent tensions between Turkey and Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean, Aliyev said "we support them [Turkey] on all issues, including the issue of intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean have heightened as Greece seeks to block Turkey's exploration of energy resources in the region, which Ankara says is well within its rights.

Greece has attempted to illegally restrict Turkey’s maritime territory, trying to box it into its shores based on small Greek islands near the Turkish coast.

Turkey has argued that the sides should instead sit down for dialogue to reach a win-win solution based on fair sharing.

Greece has also recently carried out military drills -- including with France -- meant to intimidate Turkey into halting energy exploration as well as illegally arming Aegean islands in violation of longstanding peace treaties.

Athens’ recent maritime delimitation agreement with Egypt also violates Turkey’s continental shelf and maritime rights, sparking further tensions between the two neighbors.

- Upper Karabakh conflict

Aliyev also briefed the envoy about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper Karabakh or Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that Armenia along with other crimes committed genocide against the Azerbaijani people, made a million Azerbaijanis homeless and carried out a policy of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories as well as violating international law.

He expressed concern about the military cooperation between Armenia, Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration.

Border skirmishes between Armenia and Azerbaijan in July left a dozen Azerbaijani soldiers dead, further escalating tensions between the arch rivals.

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

Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions as well as decisions by many international organizations refer to this fact and demand the withdrawal of the occupational Armenian forces from Upper Karabakh and seven other occupied regions of Azerbaijan.

Expressing his appreciation, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Twitter: "Thank you so much. We have never had doubts about the support of Azerbaijan."

"Unwaveringly, Turkey also will always stand with Azerbaijan," Cavusoglu said, adding Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation and two states.