Erdogan tells Armenia to end 'occupation' of Karabakh
- Turkey strongly backs Azerbaijan in the region and has historically poor relations with Armenia.
ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday demanded Armenia put an end to its "occupation" of Nagorny Karabakh after deadly clashes broke out along the border of Azerbaijan's breakaway region.
"The time has come for the crisis in the region that started with the occupation of Nagorny Karabakh to be put to an end," Erdogan said.
"Once Armenia immediately leaves the territory it is occupying, the region will return to peace and harmony," he said in a prepared address.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a territorial dispute over the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorny Karabakh for decades, waging a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives.
Turkey strongly backs Azerbaijan in the region and has historically poor relations with Armenia.
Erdogan once again blamed Armenia for starting the latest escalation, accusing the United States, Russia and France of failing to properly address the conflict in so-called "Minsk Group" talks.
"They basically did everything they could not to resolve the issue," Erdogan said.
"Now Azerbaijan must take matters into its own hands."
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