YEREVAN – NATO member Turkey’s active involvement in last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh undermined Armenia’s trust in the U.S.-led alliance, Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan told a visiting NATO envoy on Thursday.
Javier Colomina Piriz, the NATO secretary general’s new special representative for the South Caucasus and Central Asia, held separate talks with Karapetyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during his first visit to Yerevan.
Official Armenian sources said the talks focused on the future of Armenia’s relations with NATO as well as regional security and the current situation in the Karabakh conflict zone in particular.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said Karapetyan spoke about “NATO member Turkey’s role in the 44-day war unleashed against Artsakh.” He said that it “reduced confidence towards NATO in the task of maintaining peace and stability in the region,” the ministry added in a statement.
It did not specify whether Karapetyan, who has frequently visited Russia since being appointed defense minister in July, signaled Yerevan’s plans to reconsider its relationship with the alliance because of that.
A separate statement released by the Armenian government’s press office, said Pashinyan “attached importance, in the political sense, to cooperation with NATO.” It was not clear whether he too complained about the Turkish involvement in the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire last November.
According to Pashinyan’s press office, Piriz said NATO stands ready to use its ties with regional states to contribute to peace and stability in the South Caucasus.
Turkey provided decisive military assistance, including sophisticated weapons and personnel, to Azerbaijan during the hostilities. Ankara also sent Islamist mercenaries from Syria to fight in Karabakh on the Azerbaijani side. The Turkish and Azerbaijani governments deny that.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Karabakh war, President Emmanuel Macron of France, another key NATO member state, also accused the Turks of recruiting “Syrian fighters from jihadist groups” for Azerbaijan.
“A red line has been crossed, which is unacceptable,” Macron said on October 1, 2020. “I urge all NATO partners to face up to the behavior of a NATO member.”
Armenian President Armen President Armen Sarkissian brought up the matter with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when they met in Brussels later that month. At a joint news conference with Stoltenberg, Sarkissian charged that Turkey is also obstructing international efforts to broker an Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire.
Stoltenberg expressed serious concern about the hostilities but stopped short of criticizing Ankara. He said that NATO is “not part of this conflict.”
5 comments
Yes, that is true.
And Russia’s obvious contempt for Armenia and Artsakh, plus Russia’s ongoing betrayal of Armenians has undermined any Armenian trust in Russia/Putin.
Hopefully this will wake up those who still think Russia views Armenia as some sort of ‘little brother’ in the neighborhood. No, Azerbaijan and Turkey are the neighborhood bullies obviously, and Russia like all gangsters want peace with peer gangsters, not war. Armenia is just someone who pays some insurance dues to Russia, but not enough for Artsakh.
Meghk. Artsakh knats.. It’s over. Everything Azerbaijan has said in the last 10 years has been spot on. Everything Yerevan has said in the last 10 years has been bluffs. I believe what the Turks are saying this year. The conflict is over, Russia occupies some of Azerbaijan, but there’s no way the Armenians of Artsakh can recover or reclaim what those heroes from 1988-1993 paid for with blood, sweat, and sacrifices. In 4 years, the Azeris will not ask for the Russian peacekeepers to stay, as is in the agreement. They already have quite the military stronghold, surrounding the area. THE BETRAYAL OF RUSSIA CONTINUES IN 2021 AS AZERBAIJAN BUILDS UP ITS MILITARY ALL OVER ARMENIAS BORDERS.
Yet you don’t hear this from Mer Hayrenik. We have always been blinded by patriotism.
Turkey builds all types of drones, aerospace technology, has a huge military and an intelligence agency to match. Azerbaijan is now a part of that. Russia has interests in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Wake up and smell the soorj. Can we just accept that Russia will not be there in 4 years, so we can plan accordingly? because I dont read or hear anyone even talking about it.
The two previous posts are disinformation. Armenians love Russia and President Putin. Armenians and Russia are fraternal brothers. Russian millitary also said if Azerbaijan or Turkey invade Armenia they will use nuclear weapons to stop them. Armenia also has nukes… its very clear what the future holds and sadly Turkey and Azerbaijan will not stop until they are nuked.. NATO is a joke and does not even have 5he advanced technologies to defend anymore.. Russia has more military advancement and is clearly the winner in the region… This is also why China has become more dominant with new hypersonic nuke weapons.. iv told many Armenians this that soon with USA economic crash imminent and civil war within usa highly likely that all nations USA supports who are enemies of Armenia will also fall with them as Turkey, Azerbaijan and other hostile nations like Israel and Pakistan get all their funding from USA…. so without USA as a major player Armenia and Russia come out winners. When WW3 starts Armenia wants to be on Russia and Chinas side and again I add Armenians love President Putin and even me trapped in USA love President Putin and think he is a way better leader than Biden and former Trump… Anyone posting they are Armenian and saying Armenians should not trust Russia is disinformation. So time is on our side are Armenians and when USA total collapse happens our people will be free!!! Both Turkey, Azerbaijan, Israel, and Pakistan aswell as isis will no longer get USA funding and fall with them..
Those are the facts that Turkey encouraged Azerbaijan and actively, unethically and unlawfully got involved in and started the unfortunate war of Sept 27, 2020 by using directly Turkey’s Army in the war and pouring mercenaries in Southern Caucus to behead Armenians. After 44 days of a disastrous war with little weaponry and defensive facilitates of Armenians it ended unfortunately in favor of Azerbaijan. But the question is whether NATO for that sudden and unexpected inhuman crimes that Turkey & Azerbyjan committed, could actually stop Turkey is another question. The main question is after passing over a year of the bloodshed and loss of close to 4000 innocents Armenian young soldiers and civilian lives, leaving massive ruins, using illegal artilleries and phosphorous bombs, causing thousands of refugees and human sufferings and above all creating a situation where Armenians in Karabakh lost their ancestors lands, roads, structural facilities and residential building, which counts to hundreds billions of dollars, Turkey & Azerbyjan are in charge of these crimes of humanity and on top of that Erdogan proudly is carrying the denial flag of Armenian 1.5 million Genocidal tag on his forehead. World and its official organizations like human rights, NATO, EU and all civil countries like USA, France…etc. are in charge to take necessary measurements and required actions against this bully man, Erdogan and his little brother Aliyev and their countries accountable!! Haven’t facing any punishments has encouraged them to become even more bully and aggressive that have invaded Armenia’s legal borders (land) and are causing enormous problems!!! Not to mention the unbelievable shortcomings of Russia, which is another story!!!!
Pashinyan after his velvet revolution did not get proper support from Western allies, especially from the US and France, otherwise, Putin would have never dared to start “lavrovian plan” and Artsakh 44 days of unwanted war, during Pandemic time.