During the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, Turkish President meets his Azerbaijani counterpart

Armenia is preparing on Monday to receive a new batch of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev just hundreds of kilometers away in the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan. 

The two presidents are scheduled to participate in the laying of the foundation stone for a new gas pipeline and the inauguration of an Azerbaijani military complex in this enclave located between Armenia and Iran. Azerbaijan acquired it in 1923 without geographical connection to Baku. 

The Turkish stance contradicts Russia's apparent withdrawal from the region, with some experts suggesting that President Aliyev believes that incorporating the Zangezur corridor along the border with Iran will allow for geographical connectivity to Nakhchivan and also with Turkey. 

While facing anti-government protests since Tuesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan blamed Russia, among others, for not supporting Armenia after the Azerbaijani army's victory over Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

He said on television, "It has become clear that the foreign security systems that Armenia is involved in are not effective in protecting its security and interests," indirectly referring to the legacy of relations with Moscow from the era when Armenia was one of the former Soviet Union's republics. 

AFP