Turkey: Talks with Russia on Nagorno-Karabakh failed
Turkey's negotiations with Russia on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, where fierce fighting continues for the fourth day, ended inconclusively, announced Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. "We spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. As we operate together with Syria, so we tried here, but failed," Azeri Daily quoted the Minister as saying. According to Cavusoglu, Russia was given the same demands: Armenia should withdraw its forces and surrender disputed territories.
"They say, "Let's stop the war. Come on. We have to declare a truce. But Armenia must withdraw from the occupied territories. Was that mentioned? No. Then how will this issue be resolved?" the minister retold the essence of negotiations with Moscow.
Azerbaijan, he said, is "waging war on its territory," while the international community is demonstrating double standards.
"Where have you seen that the country whose lands were occupied should be put on the same scale with the occupier? Do we see a similar approach with regard to Ukraine, including the events in Crimea? Rightly, the international community supports Ukraine and the residents of Crimea. We also clearly support Georgia's territorial integrity. We need to approach countries with the same position," Cavusoglu said.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that the Turkish Air Force continued to participate in airstrikes along the front line. In the morning, according to the Armenian Defense Ministry, the F-16 "bombed Martakert (Karabakh), in particular civilian facilities, and their actions were controlled from the control center located in the Turkish Erzurum."
"Azerbaijan has handed over control of its military aircraft, including drones, to Turkey. Aviation management is now carried out by Turkish Boeing E-7T early warning and control systems (Boeing 737 AEW'C). The Boeing 737 AEW&C planes guide Azerbaijani aviation from Turkish airspace," Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that the Armenian military used the Tochka-U missile systems. The situation on the front line remains unclear, with both sides declaring victories and contradicting each other.
The Kremlin continues to limit itself to "concerns" and calls for a cease-fire, while Russian State Duma suggests starting preparing to send an army.
Russia is "extremely interested in resolving the situation between the two friendly nations, and it would be strange if we spoke only with political declarations on this issue and did not take part in peacekeeping actions, if necessary," Dmitry Novikov, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs, told Interfax.
He was supported by the first deputy chairman of the CIS Committee, Viktor Vodolatsky, who proposed to use the "experience of Transnistria."