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Turkish Parliament Speaker Says OSCE Minsk Group ‘Brain-Dead’ on Nagorno-Karabakh Issue

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The OSCE Minsk Group on the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, is ineffective and "brain-dead," Turkish parliament speaker Mustafa Şentop said on Tuesday.
Sputnik

"The OSCE Minsk Group, which has not been able to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue for 30 years, has been brain-dead," Şentop told Azerbaijani lawmakers, as quoted by the Turkish news agency Anadolu.

He added that Armenia has "become a regional and a global problem."

According to the Turkish parliament speaker, the region will remain in a stalemate until the Armenian "occupation" in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent area ends.

On Tuesday, Şentop also held a meeting with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to discuss the ongoing conflict.

Turkish Parliament Speaker Says OSCE Minsk Group ‘Brain-Dead’ on Nagorno-Karabakh Issue

Armed hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh have been ongoing since September 27. The parties have since agreed to two humanitarian ceasefires, however, both were broken mere hours after entering into force. The warring sides have continued to accuse each other of attacks on civilian settlements.

Turkey has pledged support to Azerbaijan since the clashes erupted. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the Armenian side of breaching the recent ceasefire in the region and accused Russia, France and the US of supplying weapons to Armenia. He also emphasised that Azerbaijan has been "fighting to get its lands back from Armenia", adding that "the clashes have shown that the Azerbaijani army will surely be victorious".

Armenia, for its part, accused Turkey of getting involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and sending its mercenaries there, a claim that both Ankara and Baku deny.

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