Turkey: parliamentary committee condemns Armenian attacks

ANKARA

Clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan have reached serious levels after Armenian artillery attacks on the night of April 1, Turkey's parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee has said.

The committee, which comprises of members from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), condemned Armenian attacks in a joint statement Tuesday.

"The aggressive and unlawful manner of Armenia, which has been occupying one fifth of Azerbaijan's lands for quarter of a century, has been reiterated in the latest attacks in Karabakh.

“In this context, we strongly condemn Armenia for its recent attacks targeting civilians and its occupation of Azerbaijan's territories for a long time, which has displaced a million Azeri people," the statement said.

"We wish Allah's mercy and grace for the martyred Azeri people, offer our sympathy to the families of those killed in the attacks and wish a speedy recovery to the injured," it added.

Reiterating the call for Armenia to retreat from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, the statement expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan.

"As Grand National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee, we call on Armenia to halt its offensive acts which threaten the peace of the region and the world, and to stop its aggressive attitude towards Azerbaijan [that has been ongoing] for quarter of a century," it said.

The statement also urged the international community to prevent such aggressive acts. "As member of the Minsk Group, Turkey will continue supporting all kinds of efforts to find a fair and permanent solution respecting Azerbaijan's integrity and unity," it added.

Over the weekend, 12 Azerbaijani troops and more than 100 Armenian soldiers were killed in fighting over Karabakh, which was seized by ethnic Armenian separatists in the early 1990s.

Pro-Armenian militia has occupied Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region since 1993, similar to how pro-Russian militia have illegally occupied parts of Ukraine since 2014.

Three UN Security Council resolutions (853, 874 and 884) and United Nations General Assembly resolutions 19/13 and 57/298 refer to Karabakh as being part of Azerbaijan.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe also refers to the territory as under occupation of Armenian forces.