For the First Time, a Turkish Official Acknowledges Ankara's Involvement in the War

An unprecedented confession regarding Ankara's direct military involvement in the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh has been made by Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's spokesperson, İbrahim Kalın. This was reported by "Ermeni Haber." Kalın gave an extensive interview to the Turkish news outlet "Haber Global," addressing the 44-day war and Ankara's role in it.

In addition to the traditional expressions about victory in Nagorno-Karabakh, which emphasize the unique relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, brotherhood, and the "one nation, two states" mentality, Kalın made another interesting observation. He noted that "the victory in Karabakh has a significant importance from the perspective of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF)." According to him, after the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, when Gülenists were removed from the army, many believed that the Turkish military would never regain its former capabilities. However, the complete opposite occurred. Thanks to the "cleansing" of the TAF, it rid itself of its ailments and returned to its real duties, the initial results of which were the military successes recorded in Syria.

The TAF recorded a second success in Libya, where their intervention changed the course of developments. "Our third intervention is the victory in Karabakh. Thanks to the excellent coordination of our military, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and intelligence, along with our President's flexible leadership, we achieved such a great success," Kalın concluded.

In this context, it can be noted that, for the first time at an official level, it has been openly declared that Turkey had direct military involvement in the 44-day war. Immediately after the war, there were statements aimed at claiming or sharing the victory, made by Turkish officials as well as pro-government media. Both officials and the media have always talked about the political, diplomatic, moral, social, and propaganda support provided to Azerbaijan. However, such direct confessions regarding military involvement at an official level had not been voiced before.