Over the past week more than 200 have died and hundreds more were injured after Armenia accused Azerbaijan of launching missiles into the Nagorno-Karabakh region, while Azerbaijan insisted that many of its towns had been attacked and Ganja, Azerbaijan’s 2nd largest city, was “under fire.” Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies inside Azerbaijan, has been controlled by ethnic Armenian forces since the end of 1994, but the roots of the conflict lie in 1921, when Armenia and Azerbaijan became Soviet Republic.
NATO Secretary General called on Turkey, an Azerbaijan ally, to help establish a ceasefire, saying “We are deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities. All sides should immediately cease fighting, I expect Turkey to use its considerable influence to calm tensions.” Nonetheless, Turkey openly sided with Azerbaijan's, and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavasoglu said that they would provide Azerbaijan with military assistance if needed. Cavasoglu has also stated that Turkey will interview if the conflict reaches Nakhchivan, an autonomous region of Azerbaijan bordering Turkey. Armenia claims that Turkey has already sent drones and military personnel to Baku, Azerbaijan's capital, and there are reports of Turkey sending Syrian mercenaries to help Azerbaijan's forces. Turkey’s intervention may pressure Russia into aiding Armenia, since the two have a security agreement established, and Russian intervention could then lead to US involvement as well, leading to an even larger conflict. Further, Israel could step in as well as it has a close relationship to Azerbaijan.
Tensions have already risen between Turkey and it’s fellow NATO members, with Canada announcing that it would halt some weapons sales to Ankara after allegations of Canadian equipment being used by Azerbajanu forces. Turkey responded by accusing Canada of “double standards'' since it has continued to expert arms to nations involved in the Yemen conflict, raising further tensions.
Meanwhile, Iran, which has almost 760 kilometers of border with Azerbaijan, has said it is working on a peace plan for the century-old conflict. Spokesman Saeed Khatibzaedh reported that “Iran has prepared a plan with a specific framework containing details after consultations with both sides of the dispute, Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as regional states and neighbors, and will pursue this plan.” He also warned the nations involved in the conflict from expanding it into Iranian territory, saying “Any aggression against the borders of the Islamic Republic, even inadvertently, is a very serious red line for the Islamic Republic that should not be crossed.”
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