Erdoğan Çağatay Zontur
03 October 2020•Update: 03 October 2020
ANKARA
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov discussed via telephone Friday the ongoing conflict in the Armenian-occupied Upper Karabakh, according to diplomatic sources.
Border clashes broke out 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 the 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 1991when 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.
*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur
