Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Masis Mayilyan said the following in an interview with Barcelona’s Nationalia news agency:

“Turkey has never maintained neutrality in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, even though it has acceded to the OSCE Minsk Group, which carries out its mission as a mediator for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Turkey is the only state in the region that has not only publicly expressed its support to the fraternal Azerbaijan, but also supports Azerbaijan’s blockade of Armenia and Artsakh. It is no secret that Turkey assists Azerbaijan in army construction, taking into consideration that several Azerbaijani officers are undergoing training in Turkey and Turkish military advisors are engaged to support Azerbaijan’s military leadership.

We consider the Turkish government’s statement supporting Azerbaijan’s provocations and gross ceasefire violations unacceptable. Once again, we emphasize that Turkey’s position makes its accession to the OSCE Minsk Group nonsensical.

It is clear that the South Caucasus is a very intricate region in which there are many role-players with various interests, and it is not by chance that Russia, France and the US are the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

It is also clear that the restart of military operations will be devastating not only for the region, but also the whole international community. The Republic of Artsakh is ready to assume its share of responsibility to maintain peace and security in the region, and it is time for the other interested role-players to do the same,” Mayilyan said.