NATO member warns ex-Soviet state about the West — RT World News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Armenia should work with Turkey and Azerbaijan to build peace instead of looking to the West for weapons and training, in a veiled criticism of the United States and France.

Erdogan said in a press conference after a lengthy cabinet meeting in Ankara that some Western powers have not yet realized that the Karabakh war changed the Caucasus and the entire region. He was referring to Finale last month To the 2020 conflict, which saw Azerbaijan reclaim the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was followed by a mass exodus of local Armenians.

“Those who have incited Armenia for years and collected profits from the pain, problems and conflicts of all the people living in this region have actually done the most harm to Armenians.” Erdogan said. He did not mention any names, but the most prominent supporters of Yerevan in the West are Paris and Washington.

They abused Armenians, exploited them, and condemned them to insecurity by fueling unrealistic dreams. “Armenia now needs to see and accept this truth.” Erdogan added.

It would be better for the Armenian people and their rulers to seek security in peace and cooperation with their neighbors, rather than thousands of kilometers away.

“No weapons and ammunition sent by Western countries can replace the peace that an environment of lasting peace will provide.” Erdogan added, urging Armenia to do so “Accept the extended hand of peace from our Azerbaijani brothers.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sought to establish closer relations with NATO in the wake of the Karabakh conflict, the outcome of which he tried to blame on his ally Russia. Both Moscow and Yerevan are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Earlier this month, Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Edward Asaryan, visited the US European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The visit was a “turn” The United States and Armenia also sought this “We are working deliberately and gradually to develop our defense relationship.” EUCOM said in a statement afterwards.

Yerevan also communicated with Paris, Make a deal Last month to purchase unspecified new weapons systems from France. This prompted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to declare this France will be responsible For any new conflict in the region. Aliyev also withdrew from a peace summit hosted by the European Union in Grenada in early October, accusing the bloc of hostility towards Baku.

Moscow protested Armenia’s position “hostile” It argued that there was nothing it could do to interfere in Nagorno-Karabakh, not after Pashinyan himself had explicitly and repeatedly acknowledged Azerbaijani sovereignty over the disputed region.