Turkey’s Erdogan to speak with Armenian PM on Nagorno-Karabakh

The Turkish Foreign Ministry had already denounced on Saturday the election of a new separatist president in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that he would hold talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian on Monday, amid growing tensions between Armenia and Ankara’s historic ally Azerbaijan.

“I will have a telephone conversation, probably tomorrow, with Mr. Pachinian. What has been done in Karabakh is not appropriate. We cannot accept this”, Erdogan said after the closing of the G20 summit in New Delhi.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry had already denounced on Saturday the election of a new separatist president in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The deputies of this mountainous territory, populated mainly by Armenians but recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan, elected Samvel Shahramanian, 45, until then head of the separatist government’s security council, by 22 votes to one.

“Turkey does not recognize this illegitimate election, which constitutes a violation of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry protested in a statement.

Armenia accused Azerbaijan on Thursday of preparing a “military provocation” by massing its soldiers along the border between these two rival Caucasus countries and near the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Next week, Armenia will host joint military exercises with the United States, a further sign of its efforts to distance itself from its traditional Russian ally.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the sovereignty of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous territory inhabited mainly by Armenians but recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan.

Tensions have risen again since early July, when Azerbaijan closed the Latchine corridor, the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, causing shortages in the region.

Turkey’s Erdogan To Speak With Armenian PM On Nagorno-Karabakh – I24NEWS