Turkey Has Returned to the South Caucasus to Continue the Armenian Genocide, Says Nikol Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave an interview to the Canadian publication The Globe and Mail, discussing the situation at the Nagorno-Karabakh-Azerbaijan border.

"Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the brink of a full-scale war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. In an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Pashinyan stated that his country is on the 'civilizational front line' and that countries allied with Turkey through NATO, such as Canada, must determine which side they are on.

Pashinyan stated that Turkey is encouraging Azerbaijan's attempt to regain Nagorno-Karabakh—a territory predominantly populated by Armenians, which has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces since the bloody war in the early 1990s. He noted that Turkey has sent Syrian mercenaries to assist Azerbaijan, a claim that has also been confirmed by Russia and France.

Mr. Pashinyan added that Turkish air forces have attacked Armenian positions. "Turkish armed forces are directly participating in the military operations," Mr. Pashinyan said from the capital of Armenia, Yerevan. "Turkey's NATO allies should explain why F-16 aircraft are bombarding cities and villages in Nagorno-Karabakh, killing civilians."

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron's office announced that he had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and both share concerns regarding Turkey sending Syrian mercenaries to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinyan also called on Western countries to reconsider arms sales agreements with Turkey after The Globe reported that Burlington's L3Harris Wescam-produced imaging and targeting systems sold to Turkey are being used by Azerbaijan in these recent military operations.

He stated that Turkey's role in the Armenia-Azerbaijan confrontation should be viewed in the context of its involvement in the Syrian and Libyan conflicts, as well as its aggressive stance towards Greece and Cyprus regarding maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean.

Mr. Pashinyan said that his government is in constant contact with Russia and added that Turkey's behavior creates problems for the entire international community. On Thursday, France, Russia, and the United States issued a joint statement calling on both sides to immediately return to a ceasefire regime and sincerely and unconditionally commit to resuming substantive negotiations.

However, the call for a ceasefire was rejected by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Pashinyan stated that he welcomes the call for a ceasefire and condemns Turkey's rejection of it. "Terrorists imported from the Middle East are fighting on behalf of Azerbaijan under Turkey's sponsorship. How can anyone now propose leaving the population of Nagorno-Karabakh defenseless against terrorists and extremists? A ceasefire can only be established if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus."

Pashinyan described Erdoğan as a leader who dreams of restoring the Ottoman Empire, which annihilated its Armenian population through massacres and deportations during World War I. "A hundred years have passed, and Turkey has returned to the South Caucasus to continue the Armenian genocide," emphasized Nikol Pashinyan.