Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to conduct his visit to Azerbaijan as the president of Turkey was not absolutely a random choice, says a spokesperson for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

Speaking to Tert.am, David Babayan described the Turkish leader’s trip, as well as his statements made in Baku as a manifestation of pan-Turkist policies.

“This reflects the true situation. It is good in a way that Turkey makes statements of the kind, unmasking its own goals and the basic concepts of its policies. I see nothing bad about this. It was predictable and absolutely no surprise. Statements of the kind have been always made,” he noted.

At a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Erdogan said his country’s relations with Armenia will remain frozen as long as the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh doesn’t find a solution.

“Turkey and Azerbaijan act as the closest allies. What’s even more, Azerbaijan is trying to become part of Turkey. This is a reflection of pan-Turkist policies. Turkey has always made statements of the kind, so this isn’t anything new. Turkey won’t recognize the Genocide; it keeps denying the fact; this too, is a continuation of genocidal policies. They are doing everything possible to destabilize the situation,” Babayan said, adding that Erdogan is trying to kind of poke his nose into the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

Commenting on Erdogan’s statement, Vahan Badasyan, a member of the Nagorno-Karabakh National Assembly, said he believes that it is time for Armenia to announce officially that its relations with Turkey will remain frozen as long the country refuses to accept and recognize the Armenian Genocide.

“Hence the Armenian side should make haste to make such a statement, as Turkey may begin mixing up the Genocide with the Karabakh issue. I think our diplomacy is slowing its efforts from that point of view. It is important for us to state that Turkey has nothing to do with Karabakh. If it has to, why doesn’t it then share an equal responsibility with Azerbaijan?” he said.

Describing the Azerbaijani policies against Karabakh as aggression, Badasyan said he sees that the country has lost lands that belonged to during the Soviet years (not historically). “And the Karabakh side stood up for the protection of those lands, justifiably protecting itself from aggression. We do not absolutely care of what Erdogan will do or say; we just have to be ready for everything,” said the lawmaker.