Ankara, Sep 19 (Bureau) Azerbaijan has wrapped up a military operation on the border with Armenia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, citing his ally, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. “Azerbaijan has declared an end to an operation it launched in response to Armenian provocations… According to the information I received from Mr. Aliyev, our Azeri brothers have moved to a safe position,” Erdogan told a press pool aboard his plane.
He said Armenia needed to “stop provocations, stay true to its earlier commitments and focus on peace and cooperation” following a spat of fighting on its border with Azerbaijan. Both countries accuse each other of firing first. “We want normalization processes in our region to come to a successful end and a lasting regional peace and stability to be safeguarded,” Erdogan added. The Turkish president spoke to reporters on the way back from the Uzbek capital of Samarkand where he took part in a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey are the organization’s dialogue partners.