Ruling AKP warns against provocations on Armenians in Turkey

ANKARA

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Spokesperson Ömer Çelik on Sept. 28 warned against provocations carried out on members of the minority Armenian community in the country, saying threats and harassments against them will not be allowed.

“We vehemently condemn Armenia’s attack on Azerbaijan. We will continue to be against these unfair and illegal activities,” he said on Twitter.

“We will never allow some circles to threaten or harass the Armenian citizens of the Republic of Turkey, over social media or other platforms,” Çelik added.

Dubbing the threats and harassments as “provocations,” Çelik said doing so was “harming the country.”

“Turkey is a safe country. Turkey is a state of law. The Republic of Turkey will never allow discrimination among its citizens,” he underlined.

Çelik also said that those attempting to discriminate against the citizens of Turkey were those wanting to damage the country.

“Those who are trying to channel our decisive stance against Armenia to other areas are chasing provocations,” Çelik added.

Noting that no one is capable of carrying out “provocations” against Turkey’s social order, Çelik also said that the country has got “high immunity against the provocation virus.”

Border clashes broke out early on Sept. 27 when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties.

Ankara reiterated its support to Baku, with many high-level Turkish officials and political parties declaring support to Azerbaijan.

Relations between the two former Soviet nations have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.