It's Time for the World to Recognize the Republic of Artsakh, Turkish Analyst

Turkish journalist and political analyst Uzay Bulut believes it is time for the world to recognize the Republic of Artsakh. He expressed this opinion in an article published on the Modern Diplomacy website, addressing the military actions unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh.

Bulut begins the article with a historical overview of the military operations that started on September 27, noting that Azerbaijan has targeted Armenians residing in the Republic of Artsakh, including its capital, Stepanakert.

“During the military operations, Azerbaijan has targeted not only residential areas, including Stepanakert, but also Armenian cultural and spiritual monuments. On October 8, Azerbaijan targeted the spiritual temple of Ghazanchetsots, located in Shushi. Ghazanchetsots is one of the largest Armenian churches in the world. The church has been shelled twice, during which three journalists who were documenting the aftermath of the first strike were injured,” the journalist wrote.

Bulut cites that in the 1990s, when Azerbaijanis captured Shushi, they stored their weapons and shells in Ghazanchetsots, which were later used against Stepanakert lying below Shushi. However, after the war, traces and remnants of Azerbaijani weapons were found in the church, yet Armenians managed to reconstruct the church in a very short time, and many girls and boys have been marrying there for years.

“Azerbaijan has targeted with the immediate support of Turkey. The Turkish president told Azerbaijanis, ‘May your Ghazwa be blessed.’ Ghazwa in Islam means struggle or attack against non-Muslims with the aim of expanding the Islamic territory and converting non-Muslims to Islam. Thus, Erdoğan has openly declared that the attacks on Armenian territory are jihad. Turkey has also sent 1,000 Syrian jihadists to fight against Artsakh,” the Turkish journalist noted.

Uzay Bulut elaborated on the Artsakh issue, Turkey's expansionist and neo-Ottoman ambitions, the mass massacres of Armenians in cities like Sumgait, and emphasized that the overwhelming majority of the population in Artsakh has been Armenian. “The effective means to stop violence and devastation is for the world to officially recognize the Republic of Artsakh, for which the indigenous Armenians have sacrificed so much throughout history,” Bulut concluded.