Turkey's stance shows Azerbaijan not alone: Aliyev

BAKU

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said Saturday that Turkey's attitude and comments on attacks by Armenia showed that his country is not alone in its just cause.

Aliyev recalled that the Armenian army launched another military provocation Sept. 27 against Azerbaijan and opened fire on settlements and military positions with various weapons, including heavy artillery.

"Your clear remarks on the issue [of Upper Karabakh dispute] once again showed that Azerbaijan is not alone in its just cause," Aliyev said in an open letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He also reiterated Turkey's position toward Armenian attacks that have been strongly condemned and seen as a treacherous act since the first minutes at every level.

Mentioning that he receives many letters of support every day from Turks, Aliyev stressed that these are clear examples of Turkey-Azerbaijan brotherhood that are appreciated by the Azerbaijan people.

"On behalf of myself and the Azerbaijani people, I thank you and the brotherly Turkish people for this support," he added.

Border clashes broke out last Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties. Azerbaijan's parliament declared a state of war in some of its cities and regions following Armenia's border violations and attacks in occupied Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

On Monday, Azerbaijan declared partial military mobilization amid the clashes.

Upper Karabakh conflict

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

Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly resolutions, as well as many 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.

France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region.