'Turkey will continue to back Azerbaijan'

ANKARA

The speaker of Turkish parliament on Sunday reacted to Armenian border violations in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, saying Ankara will always stand by Baku.

"The recent attacks on civilians have shown that Armenia is not only a threat to Azerbaijan but an established terror state in terms of regional peace," Mustafa Sentop said on Twitter.

Armenia will solely be responsible for its consequences, he added.

Separately, Sentop held a phone call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Sahibe Gafarova.

Turkey, he said, will give all kinds of support to Azerbaijan based on the "two states, one nation" principle.

Border clashes broke out earlier in the day after Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions. The number of casualties is not yet known.

Relations between the two former Soviet nations have been tense since 1991 when Armenian military occupied the Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh region, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Multiple UN resolutions, and other international organizations demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.

The OSCE Minsk Group -- co-chaired by France, Russia and the US -- was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail despite several meetings.