Syrian President Bashar Assad said in an interview with RIA Novosti that Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the main initiator of a new round of conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"He supports terrorists in Libya, he was the main instigator and initiator of the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia," Assad said.
According to Asad, militants from the SAR territory are moving to Nagorno-Karabakh, and Damascus can confirm this.
"So the fact that it [Turkey] uses the same methods in Nagorno-Karabakh doesn't require proof, it's very likely because, as I said, Turkey was the one that led to the problem and started the conflict: it encouraged it," the Syrian leader said.
Earlier, French President Emmanuelle Macron said 300 fighters from Syria had moved through the Turkish town of Gaziantep to Baku. According to him, they belong to a group operating in the Aleppo region. After Macron's statement, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev demanded an apology from Paris, pointing out that Azerbaijan has no mercenaries.
The conflict began in February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its secession from the Azerbaijani SSR. As a result of the armed confrontation in 1992-1994, Baku lost control of the region and seven surrounding districts.
Since 1992, negotiations on a peaceful settlement have been going on within the OSCE Minsk Group led by Russia, the USA and France. Azerbaijan insists on preserving its territorial integrity, Armenia defends the interests of the unrecognized republic.
On the morning of September 27, the situation on the line of contact aggravated. Baku and Yerevan put responsibility for it on each other. All participants announced full or partial mobilization. There are victims among the peaceful population.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that Azerbaijan is actively supported by Turkey (NATO member), there are data about Ankara's transfer of militants from Syria and Libya to the conflict zone. In its turn, Armenia is a member of the CSTO. The world community calls the parties for restraint.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Alexey Druzhinin / TASS