Despite the ceasefire, fighting between Armenian forces and the Azerbaijani army resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh on Monday.
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In a telephone conversation with Shawig, Akar spoke of “the need for Armenia to cease its attacks and withdraw from the occupied territories,” the Turkish Ministry of Defense said.
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Akars also said that “Azerbaijan will not wait another 30 years for a solution” and added that Turkey is on the Azerbaijani side and supports Azerbaijan’s campaign to reclaim its land.
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There have been hostile relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia since the 1990s, when there was a war over Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian population.
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Nagorno-Karabakh, which was part of the Azerbaijani SSR during the Soviet era, has been a “de facto” independent Armenian republic since the early 1990s. Although Azerbaijan has not controlled Nagorno-Karabakh since the collapse of the USSR, it considers the Armenian region to be its territory. Nagorno-Karabakh is also considered by the international community to be part of Azerbaijan, and no country has recognized the region as an independent state.
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Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence in 1991. Its secession from Azerbaijan contributed to the outbreak of war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. About 35,000 people lost their lives in the war, and more than a million people in both countries were forced to flee their homes.
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On September 27, hostilities broke out again on the de facto border of Nagorno-Karabakh.
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On Saturday morning, the foreign ministers of the two countries agreed on a humanitarian ceasefire in Moscow to exchange prisoners and the dead.
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Azerbaijani officials have already said that the ceasefire is only a temporary measure that will not stop its campaign.
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Turkey over the weekend welcomed the ceasefire as an important first step, but said it would not replace a lasting solution.
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