‘Defend your future’: Erdogan calls on ordinary Armenians to stand against their government as clashes with Azerbaijan continue

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Armenians to unite in opposition to their government, which he claims is the “biggest threat” to peace in the region, after military hostilities resumed with Azerbaijan.

Erdogan urged the people of Armenia to safeguard their future from their country’s leadership, which he claimed is using them like “puppets.”

In a series of tweets, on Sunday, the Turkish leader expressed hope that the “whole world” would stand with Azerbaijan in its “struggle against occupation and oppression.”

“Armenia once again showed that it is the biggest threat to peace and tranquility in the region,” Erdogan wrote. He also lashed out at the Minsk Group, which was formed by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to help facilitate a peaceful resolution to the territorial dispute between Baku and Yerevan. He accused the international body of “double standards” when dealing with the two nations, claiming that Armenian “aggression” has been overlooked for nearly three decades.

Ankara threw its full support behind Baku after Armenian and Azeri forces clashed in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on Sunday morning. The ruling conservative Justice and Development Party, which is led by Erdogan, released a statement condemning Yerevan for “playing with fire” and accused Armenia of threatening regional peace.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been bitter rivals since both nations secured their independence in the 1990s. The mutual distrust comes from a years-long dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a predominantly Armenian area landlocked inside Azeri territory. Baku claims sovereignty over the region, while Yerevan treats it as an independent nation and ally. Both nations have accused each other of sparking the latest military flare-up in the border region.

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