Turkey should take part in solution process for Upper Karabakh issue: Azerbaijan's Aliyev

The Azerbaijani president said on Monday Turkey should participate in the solution process in the recent conflict at the Azerbaijan-Armenia front line.

"Turkey, with its strong position in the international community, should participate in the solution process in [Upper] Karabakh," Ilham Aliyev said.

Underlining that Turkey's advanced armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) showed the country's potential, Aliyev said the UAVs help drop the number of casualties in the conflict zone.

He also stressed that Armenia is trying to pull Russia into the war by attacking the Azerbaijani territories.

"Armenians are living in Azerbaijan. We have no problem with the Armenian people. The Armenian people are the hostages of their own power," he said, adding that they will live together in the Upper-Karabakh when the Armenian occupation policy is over.

The fighting began on Sept. 27, when the Armenian forces targeted civilian Azerbaijani settlements and military positions in the region, leading to casualties.

UPPER KARABAKH CONFLICT

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Multiple UN resolutions, as well as many international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the invading forces.

The OSCE Minsk Group -- co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US -- was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.

Many world powers, including Russia, France, and the US, have urged an immediate cease-fire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense.