Turkish lawmaker: France doing everything possible to arm Armenia

Head of the Türkiye-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary Friendship Group Shamil Ayrim has said that the award of the medal on behalf of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is a recognition of the efforts of all those working to strengthen the Turkish-Azerbaijani solidarity and develop joint initiatives.

Ayrim made these remarks in an interview with Ankara’s bureau of Report, commenting on the presentation of the commemorative medal "100th Anniversary of Heydar Aliyev (1923–2023)" to him, Caliber.Az reports.

He emphasised that the award inspires him to complete the ongoing projects and promote the exemplary relations between the fraternal countries.

"An international conference dedicated to the safe return of Western Azerbaijanis to their houses was held on December 5-6, 2024. The final document of the conference was presented to the UN. This means that the rights of Western Azerbaijanis are now recognized by the UN. Therefore, we will continue our efforts both within the country and abroad. Furthermore, Article 9 of the agreement signed among Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia in 2020 addresses the opening of the Zangezur Corridor," Ayrim said.  

He noted that Armenia, which has become a victim of France's interests, does not want to abide by this agreement. "France is doing everything it can to arm Armenia. However, despite all these artificial obstacles, we believe that justice will prevail once again, and the issue of Zangezur will be resolved in 2025," he said. Ayrim added that the solidarity between Azerbaijan and Türkiye in the region strengthens the Organisation of Turkic States. 

He expressed hope for the international recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the continued growth of the organisation’s influence. Earlier, Ayrım said that the key to long-lasting peace in the South Caucasus lies in constitutional changes in Armenia and the cessation of the OSCE Minsk Group’s activities. 

Reflecting on Türkiye’s solidarity with Azerbaijan during the 44-day second Karabakh war, he recalled that Türkiye once again demonstrated its friendship and alliance with Azerbaijan during a challenging period.

By Naila Huseynova