ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan disclosed on Sunday Turkey’s direct involvement in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, suggesting potential military action against Israel in a provocative statement.
During a speech on Turkey’s defense industry, Erdogan condemned Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza. He referenced Turkey’s military actions in Karabakh and Libya, implying similar interventions could be directed towards Israel.
“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine. Just like we entered Karabakh, just like we entered Libya, we might do similar to them,” Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party in Rize. “There is no reason why we cannot do this… We must be strong so that we can take these steps,” he added, as reported by Reuters.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz compared Erdogan to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, suggesting Erdogan should remember Hussein’s fate following the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. “He should remember what happened there and how it ended,” Katz posted on X.
During the 2020 Karabakh war, Turkey provided significant diplomatic and military support to Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army heavily relied on Turkish combat drones, which played a crucial role in their victory during the six-week conflict. Additionally, Turkish F-16 fighter jets, present in Azerbaijan before the war, participated by striking targets across Karabakh. Armenian and Karabakh officials claimed Turkish ground forces were also involved, although this was denied by Ankara.
Following the capture of the strategic Karabakh town of Shushi (Shusha) in November 2020, Azerbaijani and Turkish flags were raised, leading to a Russian-brokered ceasefire. In December 2020, around 3,000 Turkish troops participated in a “victory parade” in Baku, where Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed gratitude to Erdogan for his support.
Western media reports corroborated Armenia and France’s claims that Turkey recruited thousands of Syrian rebel fighters to assist Azerbaijan. Despite these allegations, Ankara denied such involvement.
Interestingly, Israel also supplied weapons to Azerbaijan before and during the 2020 conflict. In response, Armenia recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv shortly after the war began. Despite the current Turkish-Israeli tensions, Azerbaijan’s relationship with Israel remains strong.
