Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday issued a statement on the occasion of “Azerbaijan Remembrance Day,” TRT Haber reports. In a post on his social media, Erdogan called Azerbaijan a “friend and brother” and paid tribute to the Azerbaijani soldiers who died in the fighting for the occupation of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

“On the occasion of the Remembrance Day of friendly and fraternal Azerbaijan, I commemorate with reverence our heroic martyrs who fought to liberate Karabakh from occupation and restore its freedom, and I honor our veterans with deep respect,” the Turkish president wrote.

Erdogan added: “Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory, it will remain so forever.” Today, Armenia marks the sixth anniversary of the start of the 44-day war, during which thousands of Armenians gave their lives for their homeland.

But as a result, Artsakh was occupied by Azerbaijan, more than 100,000 Artsakh residents were left without a homeland, and Armenians no longer live in Artsakh for the first time in many millennia.