ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has firmly put its weight behind oil-rich Azerbaijan as a decades-old territorial dispute flared anew into an armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region situated within Azerbaijan controlled by Armenia-backed ethnic separatists. “Wherever there is a problem, Turkey’s tendency has been to militarize the problem,” the Marshall Fund’s Unluhisarcikli said. Erdogan's stance had worsened a war of words with France, whose population includes many of Armenian origin, but it is widely accepted at home. Erdogan is also betting that, despite their differences over Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey and Russia get on well enough to prevent a wider conflict in the region. Show the level of cooperation and support. However, the Turkish government has denied Armenian claims that it is sending Syrian fighters and F-16 combat jets to assist Azerbaijani forces in the conflict that broke out Sunday. Relations between Armenia and Turkey already were tenuous due to the the mass killings and deporations of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago, Scholars consider those events to be the first genocide of the 20th century, which Turkey denies. “The support that Azerbaijan would request (from Turkey) would fall beneath the threshold that would anger Russia,” Unluhisarcikli said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inspects a military honour guard in Ankara, Turkey, last week. Experts see Turkey’s hardline rhetoric against Armenia as part of Turkey’s aspirations for global and regional leadership and Ankara’s increasing efforts to resolve disputes through “gunboat diplomacy.”. Turkey’s all-round support to Azerbaijan was decisive in its defeat of Armenia and showing the CSTO to be an empty vessel and the EU to be a paper tiger. Ankara: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's strong backing for Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh has set Turkey apart from other big nations and alarmed NATO allies that are demanding a ceasefire. He said the Azerbaijani and Turkish leaders spoke on the phone today when Turkish President... Public Mobilization. With the conflict threatening to draw Russia in, experts think Azerbaijan will act with caution and limit any Turkish intervention. Turkey has supported various indirect bilateral talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia and initiated trilateral dialogue in Reykjavik in 2002 and the IstanbulSummit, 2004 among the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia in an a… An Azerbaijan rocket launches from a missile system at the contact line of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan correlated to foreign aggression, domestic oppression - Garo Paylan Oct 16 2020 12:35 Gmt+3 Last Updated On: Oct 16 2020 12:36 Gmt+3 But for Erdogan, the resolute stance is a strategic priority and a costly necessity that reinforces his strategy of flexing military muscle abroad to retain support at home. President Ilham Aliyev has said that Azerbaijan and Turkey will further support each other in all matters and continue efforts to establish regional peace. Turkey has also dismissed as “propaganda” claims by Armenia that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down an Armenian SU-25 jet. The base, with a garrison of about 3,000 soldiers, is in Gyumri, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of Nagorno-Karabakh and less than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Turkish border. Turkey's stance — sending an implicit threat to Armenia and a message of caution to Russia, which has a defence pact with Armenia — reflects its confidence in drone warfare, political analysts said. “We strongly condemn the attack on Armenia against Azerbaijan,” Kalin wrote, adding that the neighboring post-Soviet country “is not alone” and has “Turkey’s full support.” Relations between Armenia and Turkey have are officially non-existent, the countries failed to establish diplomatic relations after Yerevan left the USSR in 1991, and have historically been hostile. The conventional wisdom, however, is that Turkey is providing Azerbaijan with military support of a kind not seen since the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1988. Turkey and Pakistan allege undying support for Azerbaijan Pakistan supported Azerbaijan following Armenia’s gross violations on the border and subsequent attacks in Upper Karabakh. "Turkey's logic in almost all corners of the map is disruption. À travers son compte Facebook, Boyer a publié un article dans lequel elle mentionnait avoir envoyé une lettre à Macron après les affrontements renouvelés entre l'Arménie et l'Azerbaïdjan, disant: "Je condamne fermement le soutien désespéré de la Turquie au président azerbaïdjanais, qui menace le processus de paix dans la région du Caucase." Turkey’s assistance to ill-disciplined and largely unmotivated Azerbaijani forces proved fruitless at the time. But cross-border campaigns such as those waged in northern Syria, Iraq and Libya are a priority for Erdogan, a second Turkish official said. Turkey's support of Azerbaijan a quest for a place in 'world order'. Turkish-made drones previously used in Syria, Libya and Iraq are now spearheading Azeri attacks on Armenian positions and one senior official said Turks were providing infrastructure and support for the weapons, though there were no troops in the field. Clashes broke out Sunday in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region within Azerbaijan that has been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since the end of a separatist war a quarter-century ago. Turkey has firmly put its weight behind oil-rich Azerbaijan as a decades-old territorial dispute flared anew into an armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region situated within Azerbaijan controlled by Armenia-backed ethnic separatists. Ankara's reliance on gas imports from Azerbaijan, which jumped 23 per cent in the first half of 2020, are also an incentive to take a firm position on Nagorno-Karabakh. A diminished US presence in the region has left gaps that Turkey and Russia have sought to fill, using diplomacy to help contain conflicts in Syria's Idlib province and in Libya, two protracted proxy wars in which they are on opposing sides. Turkey is in the field with the United States and Russia. Turkey, Pakistan Vow Full Support To Azerbaijan Against Armenia; US, Iran Call For De-Escalation Hailing Turkish Support. “Turkey and Azerbaijan have expanded their capabilities in the region, and our role and influence have increased and will continue to grow. Turkey’s main opposition leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has also repeatedly voiced support for Azerbaijan. Turkey’s military involvement in the conflict for now is “more rhetoric than substance,” Unluhisarcikli said. Turkey may have sent military drone operators to help Azerbaijan in the current fighting, he said. Associated Press writer James Heintz in Moscow contributed. He stressed that Turkey’s support in the war “inspired us from the first hours”. The Turkish government has denied sending Syrian mercenaries to help Azerbaijan in the battle even though the Britain-based opposition war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported that as many as 850 Syrian fighters have arrived in Azerbaijan. Erdogan made the establishment of formal ties with Armenia conditional on its withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh. Akar condemned the Armenian attacks on civilian settlements and wished God's mercy upon the martyred. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Pashinian this week said he does not see an immediate need for calling on Russian forces to take action. Azerbaijan has upgraded the engineering equipment arsenal of its armed forces with cutting-edge machinery and equipment from Turkey. Turkey and Azerbaijan are bound by strong ethnic, cultural and historic ties and refer to their relationship as … Turkey is ready to provide military support to Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia, said Foreign Minister Mevlut Chavushoglu, reports Anadolu news agency. On the other hand, Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Armenia and sealed its border with the nation in 1993 to show solidarity with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The country has flexed its military muscle in Syria in a bid to prevent Kurdish militants from entrenching in a border region, in Libya where it has sided with the Tripoli-based government to safeguard a maritime delimitation agreement, and in the eastern Mediterranean where it sent a search vessel, accompanied by warships, to explore for energy in disputed waters with Greece. Ankara has denied allegations - including by Russia - that it has sent Syrian mercenaries to support Azerbaijan. "Turkey is ready to support Azerbaijan both at the negotiating table and on the battlefield," said the Turkish Foreign Minister.