"L.A. is proud to be home to the largest Armenian diaspora. We stand with the people of Armenia. I urge our leaders in Washington to conduct the sustained and rigorous diplomacy necessary to bring peace to the Artsakh region. Turkey must disengage," Garcetti said on Twitter.
The Turkish consul general in Los Angeles responded to the mayor's comment saying that the city authorities have apparently chosen to "overlook" a significant community of "hardworking" Turkish Americans residing in the city.
"Furthermore, rather than misinforming the public by spreading unsubstantiated and manipulated reports about Turkey's relations with Azerbaijan, the leaders of this city would be acting more responsibly and would be in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions, if they also called for an immediate and unconditional end to the illegal occupation of 20% of the Azerbaijani territories since 30 years now," the consul general said in a statement posted on Twitter.
A fresh spark in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region started a week ago. Yerevan and Baku have both accused each other of violating the 1994 ceasefire and causing civilian casualties. Amid continued fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, several countries, including Russia, the United States, and France, have urged parties to exercise restraint and to resume negotiations without pre-conditions. Turkey, for its part, pledged to support Azerbaijan either in negotiations or in combat amid the continuing Nagorno-Karabakh escalation.