Turkey's military power changes concept of war: Parliament speaker

Turkey's military facilities and technologies have the potential to change the concept of war and conflict in the world, the country's parliament speaker said in Istanbul on Friday.

Speaking at a symposium on South Caucasus and the Karabakh conflict, Mustafa Şentop said the potential of Turkey's military facilities and technology was partially demonstrated in Syria and Libya, and more recently "very clearly" in Azerbaijan during the second Nagorno-Karabakh war.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27 last year, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the nearly three-decade occupation.

Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 armed drones purchased by Baku played a significant role in Azerbaijan's victory in Karabakh.

Although the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been settled with the Moscow-brokered cease-fire, he said, the conflicts in the South Caucasus, around Turkey and across the world have not ended yet.

Şentop recalled that top Turkish officials paid a visit to Azerbaijan during the war and expressed their support to the brotherly country.

HISTORICAL, LEGAL AZERBAIJANI LAND

The Turkish speaker underlined that the Nagorno-Karabakh area has always been considered a historical Azerbaijani territory.

No matter how far we go into history, he said, Nagorno-Karabakh was under Azerbaijani rule, both after the Iran-Russia agreement, in the beginning of the 19th century, and in the Constitution adopted in the Soviet Union period.

"In the Soviet period, there was no tendency, practice or legal regulation that Nagorno-Karabakh would have an administration outside the lands of Azerbaijan. In this respect, when we look back, we see that Nagorno-Karabakh is a land belonging to Azerbaijan historically," he said.

He went on to say that the same situation and justification was also actual from the legal perspective as four UN Security Council resolutions refer to Armenia as an invader in Azerbaijani territory.

"The negotiations, which have always been on the table for 30 years, have not come to a conclusion," he said, adding that the result was achieved when "finally the power of Azerbaijan" was shown.

"I would like to express that the steps that solve problems and contribute to world peace are very valuable. Turkey with its diplomatic interventions in many regions has clearly shown that it was in such a way," Şentop said.