French President Emmanuel Macron, who denounced the interference of jihadist groups in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, will call Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to demand
“explanations”
, he announced on Friday 2 October, calling for the 'NATO to
"look in the face"
the actions of Ankara, member of the alliance.
Read also: Karabakh: Turkey determined to help Azerbaijan to recover "its occupied lands"
According to Emmanuel Macron, “300 jihadist fighters” left Syria to reach the separatist Azerbaijani territory, passing through Turkey.
“A red line is crossed.
I say that this is unacceptable, and I invite all NATO partners to simply look in the face what the behavior of a NATO member is: I do not think that is part of it ”
, he told the press at the EU summit in Brussels.
"Other contingents are preparing, roughly the same size (...) A red line is crossed
(...)
it is unacceptable"
, warned the French president.
The fighting escalated Thursday in the Nagorno-Karabakh region despite new calls for a ceasefire.
This territory, mostly populated by Armenians, had seceded from Azerbaijan, leading to a war in the early 1990s that left 30,000 dead.
Since Sunday, the forces of the separatist enclave, supported by Armenia, and those of Azerbaijan have clashed in the deadliest fighting since 2016. Turkey is Azerbaijan's most loyal ally.
Read also: Karabakh: Baku drones ignite the Black Garden
France, along with Russia and the United States, is part of the “Minsk group” responsible for mediating this conflict.
"I will call President Erdogan in the next few days because as co-chair of the Minsk group I consider that it is France's responsibility to ask for explanations,"
Emmanuel Macron insisted in Brussels.
"I invite all NATO partners to simply look in the face what the behavior of a NATO member is: I do not think that is relevant
," he said.
The Twenty-Seven said on Friday that
"there can be no military solution to the conflict, nor any interference"
in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, in their conclusions of the first day of the summit.
Moscow had reported on Wednesday information similar to that of Emmanuel Macron.
Russia, a regional power which maintains cordial relations with the two ex-Soviet republics, has also expressed concern about the role of Turkey, a geopolitical competitor but with whom it has pragmatic relations.
