Russian President Vladimir Putin called the fact that Turkey took Azerbaijan's side in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict geopolitical consequences of the collapse of the USSR. He expressed this opinion in an interview with the Russian media.
"As for Turkey, the role of Turkey is well known, this has been explicitly mentioned in Azerbaijan many times, and the Turkish side has never concealed it. They unilaterally supported Azerbaijan," Putin said.
"Well, what can I say? These are geopolitical consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union," he stated.
The Russian leader noted that it is said: "somehow in general". "But here it is not in general. This is a very specific event that we are now witnessing," he added.
Putin emphasized that Azerbaijan is an independent sovereign state and has the right to choose its allies as it deems necessary.
Violation of international law
It is difficult to accuse Turkey of violating international law in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, although taste assessments may vary, Putin noted.
"It is possible to give any assessments of Turkey's actions, but it is difficult to accuse Turkey of violating international law," the president said. - "There may be any kind of assessments, but nevertheless, it is the same as I said".
Putin reminded that "nobody, even Armenia, has recognized Karabakh's independence". "What does it mean in terms of international law? That Azerbaijan was returning the territories that it considered and that the whole world community considered the Azerbaijani territory. In this regard, it had the right to choose any ally who provided it with well-known assistance," the head of the Russian state explained.
The President emphasized that Turkey was originally a member of the OSCE Minsk Group on Karabakh settlement, i.e. it was within the international settlement mechanism. "Turkey was not among the co-chairs, but nevertheless, it was a member of that group. There are 11 states in total," he said.
Reaction of the USSR authorities
In the late 1980s, the USSR authorities did not react properly to the Armenian-Azerbaijani clashes, which then led to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the President said.
Speaking about the situation in the region, he drew attention to the history of the issue. As the President of the Russian Federation noted, the conflict started in 1988 when ethnic clashes in Sumgait (Azerbaijani SSR) affected the Armenian population, after which these events spilled over into Nagorno-Karabakh.
"Since the then leadership of the Soviet Union did not react properly to the events - these are subtle things, here I do not want to take sides, who is right there, who is guilty, now it is impossible to say at all - but it was necessary to restore order, to protect people, the civilian population was necessary. That was not done, and then the Armenians themselves took up arms and this protracted, long-lasting conflict began," Putin said.
As a result, the President of the Russian Federation reminded, the region declared its independence from Azerbaijan, and after the military conflict seven more districts adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh were essentially under the control of Armenian forces. "This is what we got from the past and what we had to solve," the head of state said. He also noted that Nagorno-Karabakh's independence was not recognized by anyone, including Armenia.
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Photo: ERDEM SAHIN / EPA / TASS
Based on materials from TASS