Pompeo slams Turkey for increasing risk, firepower in Nagorno-Karabakh

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lambasted
Turkey’s military support for Azerbaijan in fighting against Armenian
separatists in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, saying it was
detrimental to resolving the conflict.
“We now have the Turks, who have stepped in and
provided resources to Azerbaijan, increasing the risk, increasing the firepower
that’s taking place in this historic fight over this place called
Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pompeo told U.S. broadcaster WSB Atlanta in an interview,
according to an e-mailed transcript sent by the State Department.
Turkey has underscored its firm support for
Azerbaijan in clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is located within
Azerbaijan’s borders but controlled by ethnic Armenians, which erupted on Sept.
27. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
had said his country was ready to do whatever was necessary to eject Armenian
forces from the region.
Since then, France, Russia, Iran and Armenia have
separately accused Turkey of sending battle-hardened Syrian mercenaries who
fought in the Syrian and Libyan civil wars to bolster Azeri troops. Armenia has
also repeatedly accused Turkey of providing air support and on Thursday said
the country was blocking flights carrying humanitarian aid from using Turkish
airspace.
“The resolution of that conflict ought to be done
through negotiation and peaceful discussions, not through armed conflict, and
certainly not with third party countries coming in to lend their firepower to
what is already a powder keg of a situation,” Pompeo said.
Azerbaijan’s defence purchases from Turkey surged in
the third quarter of the year, according to Reuters. Turkish arms exports to
Azerbaijan rose to $113.5 million in the July to September period from $880,000
in the previous three months, it said.
Speaking to Turkish broadcaster NTV on Thursday,
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said that none of the region’s problems could be
solved without Turkey’s assistance. “This is true, whether people like it or
not,” he said.
Aliyev said that he did not rule out Turkey
establishing a military base in the country, but there were no such plans at
present.
“If such a need arises, if Azerbaijan is in danger,
Turkey is our ally and we can take advantage of these opportunities,” he said.
Aliyev said territorial advances by the Azeri army
meant it was in control of two of Karabakh’s five major regions. Azerbaijan
would take all five unless Armenia agreed to withdraw within a specific
timeline, he said.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian residents are
arming and joining volunteer squads to defend their towns, the Associated Press
reported.
Fighting in the enclave is persisting even after
Russia brokered a ceasefire between the two countries at talks in Moscow last
week. Russia is the dominant player in the Caucasus region and maintains a
security pact with Armenia, a close ally. The agreement does not however cover
Nagorno-Karabakh. Moscow has also cultivated warmer relations with Azerbaijan
in recent years. It sells weapons to both sides.
Russia and Turkey agreed that a peaceful resolution
was the only option to end the conflict in a phone call between Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Erdoğan
on Wednesday, according to the Kremlin. Moscow is sceptical about a recent
proposal by Turkey to allow it to join peace talks on the side of Azerbaijan
while Russia represents the interests of Armenia, according to Russian
state-run TASS news agency.
"Azerbaijan and Armenia have mutual trust in
Russia as a balanced partner while (Armenia’s capital) Yerevan has no such
confidence in Ankara,” Russian newspaper Izvestia cited Vice President of the
Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan as saying.
“It’s wrong to try to create a four-way format in
which Russia will side with Armenia and Ankara with (the Azeri government in)
Baku,” Simonyan said.