16:23 • 13.06.17
Turkey and Azerbaijan are highly unlikely to face a war in the near future in the light of the current geopolitical developments, Ambassador Arman Navasardyan said today, commenting on the joint Turkish-Azerbaijani military drills in Nakicevan.
"Turkey will not provoke any escalation as long as it maintains very good military relations with Russia. Also, Turkey's relations with Azerbaijan are not virtually that bad now, so I don't see a big threat of war,” he told reporters.
The drills, running from 12 through 16 June, are the second round of joint military exercises bringing Turkish and Azerbaijani troops together. The first round was organized from 1 to 5 June in Baku.
Navasardyan described the initiative as a Turkish-Azerbaijani attempt to incite tnension.
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“These are the second large-scale military maneuvers,” he said citing Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu’s recent statement highlighting his country’s high-level military cooperation with Azerbaijan.
He noted that the Turkish official made reference to the Treaty of Kars Articles 4 and 5 whereof ban a Turkish military presence on the territory of Naikcevan,
Navasardyan stressed the need of strong efforts by Armenia to create its own military base in the region. “We need to be very active here to raise the issue of the treaties of Moscow and Kars. I think it is a very good moment to take advantage of in defense of our national interests and security,” he added.
Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, a former chief of the National Security Service also attending the news conference, warned of serious hazards to Armenia. He called attention particularly to the timing of the exercises.
“They are trying, in every possible way, to make the OSCE Minsk Group work. And that’s absolutely a success. I have repeatedly stated that our inaction caused the world to adopt seven resolutions against us, four in the UN and three in NATO. The world never knows our demand; they have no idea about it,” he added.