Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict instigated by Turkey's Erdogan, claims Syria's Assad

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the main instigator of the ongoing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Assad, during an interview with Russian news agency Sputnik, accused Erdogan of supporting terrorists in Syria and Libya, adding that he is the main instigator of the military stand-off in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. 

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Allegations against Turkey

Allegations of Turkey meddling in the conflict have been leveled by Armenia as well. Yerevan has accused Turkey of sending thousands of mercenaries from Syria, a claim swiftly rejected by Ankara. Assad also reiterated the allegation without providing any solid evidence, saying that Turkey used the method of sending terrorists to Syria and Lybia and it won't be a surprise if they are doing the same in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. 

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Turkey, meanwhile, dismissed all allegations and has announced its support for Azerbaijan. The skirmishes between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been going on since July this year with both sides reporting casualties. But on September 27 it turned into a major escalation and have been continuing ever since. On October 5, Canada suspended its drone technology export to Turkey over allegations that Ankara is supplying them to Azerbaijan, which in turn is being used in the conflict in the South Caucasus region. 

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The United Nations and the international community has urged both Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve the issue peacefully. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has requested Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to immediately take steps to establish a ceasefire and start negotiations in order to prevent a major conflict from breaking out in the region. 

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region since 1988. In 1994 a Russia-brokered ceasefire agreement was signed between both the countries but numerous violations have occurred since then. 

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