The Foreign Ministry has criticized a recent visit by Turkish journalists to the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region as “illegal” but called on Azerbaijan, which had formally protested the press coverage, to show more respect for freedom of the press.
A crew of the private NTV visited Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this month, drawing a formal protest from Azerbaijan, which fought a war over the
In a statement, Burak Ozugergin, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said the two journalists’ visit to Nagorno-Karabakh was “against Turkey’s policies” and “by no means legal.” The statement, released on Saturday, said: “The importance that Turkey attaches to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Turkey’s stance regarding Nagorno-Karabakh is obvious. We cordially support Azerbaijan’s rightful concerns on occupied territories.”
But, underlining the principle of freedom of the press, the statement went on to say: “Similar reporting activities need to be assessed with the norms and principles of press freedom. We are sure that the Azerbaijani administration will take into account this distinction.”
The Nagorno-Karabakh region is a breakaway Azerbaijani territory occupied by Armenian military forces in a full-fledged war in the early 1990s. Azerbaijan considers the territory its own and requires permission from Azerbaijani authorities to visit the region.
Turkey, which is in talks with Armenia to restore ties, says progress in efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute will also positively affect the Turkish-Armenian normalization process. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan in the war over Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan, earlier this year, protested the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, demanding that Ankara not open its borders with Yerevan until Armenia ends its occupation of Azerbaijani territory.
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