Wednesday, July 15 2020 10:28

ArmInfo. Turkey will not hesitate to oppose any "encroachments" on the rights and lands of Azerbaijan. This statement was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, commenting on the clashes on the border between Azerbaijan  and Armenia.

 "Turkey strongly condemns the attacks from Armenia  against friendly and fraternal Azerbaijan," the Turkish leader said,  while allegedly expressing concern that many years of tension grew  into clashes.  At the same time, Erdogan assured that the provocation  committed on the border between the two states with the use of heavy  weapons indicates that what is happening is a "deliberate attack on  Azerbaijan." "This attack is an event that goes beyond the framework  of Armenia. The goal is to prevent a settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh,  as well as create new centers of conflict," President Erdogan noted.   President Erdogan added that such aggressiveness on the part of  Armenia, which is not able to solve numerous internal problems, is  first of all disrespect for its own population.  It should be noted  that the Head of the Ministry of Defense of Turkey Hulusi Akar made  an identical statement the day before. "We strongly condemn the  attacks of the Armenian side in the Tovuz region of Azerbaijan," the  Turkish minister said, Anadolu reports.

According to the Minister, the Turkish Ministry of Defense will  continue to provide all possible assistance and support to the  Azerbaijani Armed Forces against Armenia.

"We will be close to the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, to support our  brothers in accordance with the principle of" one nation, two states,  "Akar emphasized. On the afternoon of July 12, the Azerbaijani Armed  Forces, for reasons unknown to the Armenian side, attempted to  violate the state border of the Republic of Armenia in the Tavush  direction using an UAZ car. After warning the Armenian side, leaving  the UAZ car, the enemy troops returned to their positions, and then,  using artillery fire, tried to capture the Armenian stronghold, but  were thrown back by the fire, causing casualties.

All night from July 12 to July 13 and all yesterday, the Azerbaijani  Armed Forces subjected to intensive firing of 82 mm mortars, tanks,  120 mm grenade launchers from the aforementioned strong point. Strike  drones were also used.

The Armenian side warned the enemy that all responsibility for  further aggravation of the situation would fall on the  military-political leadership of Azerbaijan.

According to an official statement of the Ministry of Defense of the  Republic of Azerbaijan on July 12, during the incident, four  servicemen of the Azerbaijani army were killed and several were  injured. But, the media already circulated information about 17 dead  from the Azerbaijani side. The Azerbaijani authorities are trying to  shift the responsibility for the situation to the Armenian side, and  baselessly accuse Yerevan of trying to draw a third party into the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The AR Ministry of Defense also reports a  violation of the ceasefire in the direction of Nakhichevan.

On July 14, the Azerbaijani defense department confirmed the death of  another 7 of its military, including Major General and Lieutenant  Colonel.

According to the latest information from the Armenian side, the  Armenian Armed Forces have four dead servicemen, two policemen and  three servicemen were injured.  On July 13, the enemy subjected to  shelling the border communities of Chinari and Aygepar, there were no  casualties among the civilian population, but the veins of the  building were damaged. And on July 14, attacked the civilian  infrastructure of the city of Berd from strike drones.  It is also  worth noting that in this situation, the Turkish side took an active  position, expressing unconditional support for Baku, which were  reflected in two statements by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.   Moreover, the second came from the mouth of the Turkish Foreign  Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on the air of TRT Haber. He noted that  Turkey, using all the opportunities, is located next to Azerbaijan.  "Let Armenia come to its senses," Cavusoglu said.