Erdogan and Aliyev celebrate victory in Nagorno-Karabakh - the exodus is underway there

Status: 25/09/2023, 17:34 p.m.

By: Erkan Pehlivan

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An exodus is taking place in Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenians leave the area. The presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey, on the other hand, celebrate the victory.

Nakhichevan - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev after the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. Erdogan praised the rapid capture of Nagorno-Karabakh. Aliyev thanked his guest for his support. His people will not forget the support, Aliyev said in a joint press conference.

It is a "matter of pride that the operation was successfully completed in a short time," Erdogan said at a joint press conference with Aliyev. "I wholeheartedly congratulate the victorious Azerbaijani army both on its historic success and on its humanitarian attitude towards civilians," he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh remains a crisis area: Armenians flee

Last week, Azerbaijan launched its so-called "anti-terror measure" in Nagorno-Karabakh. With large-scale military actions, the Azerbaijani military was able to force the Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh to surrender. Since then, the remaining of the original 120,000 Armenians have been trying to leave the area. People are afraid of being attacked. Chaotic scenes can be observed at the border crossings and checkpoints.

In addition to Azerbaijan, the main winner of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh is Turkey. © Dpa

The Armenians had been encircled in Nagorno-Karabakh for about nine months. There was a lack of everything. In addition to food, there was also a lack of medicines and energy. "The painful reality is that people are being displaced from their homes, their lives are being destroyed and their future is uncertain," writes journalist Siranush Sargsyan on X. The journalist had posted a piece of bread on X a few days ago - and wrote that it was the only thing she and her sister could eat all day.

Human rights organization warns - Turkey signs treaties with Azerbaijan

The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) calls on the EU to act. "The ISHR condemns the Azerbaijani war of aggression in the strongest possible terms and warns against violent ethnic cleansing. The human rights organization calls on Germany and the EU to immediately stop all economic relations with Azerbaijan and to impose severe sanctions against the Aliyev regime," the ISHR said in a statement.

The meeting between Erdogan and Aliyev shows that, in addition to Azerbaijan, Turkey is also among the winners of this war. The two countries agreed to cooperate more closely in various areas. A new 85-kilometer gas pipeline will run from Turkey's eastern province of Igdir to Sederek in Azerbaijan. There will also be a rail link between the two countries. In the field of defence, the two countries also want to expand their cooperation. (erpe)