Turkey seeks to join Karabakh peace talks

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addressed the recent escalation in Nagorno Karabakh and the regulatory framework of the conflict, Ermenihaber.am reports citing Haberler.com.

In response to a question on Turkey's possible steps, Davutoglu reminded of the country's membership in the Minsk Group.

"As long as the process is overseen by the three Co-chairs, other members are left out of it," he said. "Moreover, there is a rather powerful Armenian lobby in those three countries."

According to Davutoglu, both Armenia and Russia are against Turkey's participation in the mediatory work.

The parties to the Karabakh conflict agreed on a bilateral ceasefire along the contact line which came into force at midday, April 5.

Prior to that, on the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

As many as 44 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 122 were wounded in the course of military operations.

As of April 5, the Azerbaijani side has lost 26 tanks and 4 infantry fighting vehicles, as well as 1 BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, 1 engineering vehicle, 2 military helicopters and 14 unmanned aerial vehicles. The Azerbaijani side has admitted the loss of 31 fighters, 1 helicopter and 1 unmanned drones, whereas the Armenian side's photo and video materials show dozens of killed Azerbaijani troops, 1 helicopter and 3 UAVs.

14 Karabakh tanks have been neutralized since April 2.