The latest decision by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to send a mission to Armenia goes against its operating rules, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Friday, calling "such fait accompli unacceptable."
"The decision now taken is against OSCE's operating rules. Such a fait accompli is unacceptable," Çavuşoğlu said at a news conference in Mersin, southern Türkiye.
The regional bloc has become a "center of deadlock," he said underlining the fact that "the OSCE was unable to resolve the Azerbaijan-Armenia dispute because it has sided with the occupier for the past 30 years."
Citing the OSCE-Minsk Group on Karabakh, Çavuşoğlu said they have stalled the liberation of occupied Azerbaijani lands for almost 30 years.
The Minsk Group, a body under the OSCE, was tasked around three decades ago to solve the Karabakh dispute, but it has achieved no results during this time, he said.
The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia, and the United States, was formed on March 24, 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. The co-chairs of the Minsk Group, who visited both countries periodically and met with the authorities, did nothing more than issuing warnings to the parties to abide by the cease-fire each time.
"For 30 years you have not solved the problem and used consensus as an excuse. Now, Azerbaijan's opinion is not taken when sending observers or any mission to that region. Such a move needs consensus," said Çavuşoğlu.
The top Turkish diplomat also addressed Ankara and Yerevan's normalization efforts. "Any positive step taken between Azerbaijan and Armenia will also positively reflect on our relations."
"Today, the North Corridor (International North-South Transport Corridor) is no longer an alternative. The East-West-Middle Corridor is vital. Therefore, we need to implement the projects here," he said, asserting that such projects would be beneficial for Europe as well.
Azerbaijan on Thursday denounced the move to send an OSCE mission to Armenia, underlining that no discussions were held within the organization.
The OSCE announced that it will send a needs assessment team to the country on Oct. 21-27, following Armenia's invitation.
On Tuesday, the OSCE urged an "immediate cease-fire" after the latest border flare-up between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, formerly known as Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Türkiye was a key backer of Azerbaijan during the 44-day Karabakh war between Baku and Yerevan, which erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, and ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire on Nov. 10. During the faceoff that started in September 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.
US role in East Med, Cyprus
Çavuşoğlu also said that the United States is no longer impartial in the Cyprus island dispute and has lost its objectivity.
Türkiye has ramped up criticism of its NATO ally the United States for abandoning a balanced policy and escalating tensions in the Cyprus and Eastern Mediterranean issues, reiterating that it will protect its rights and interests against the Greek side.
The recent U.S. decision to lift the arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration has disrupted its balanced policy on the island and made Washington completely pro-Greek Cypriot, Çavuşoğlu said last month.
Also, Türkiye earlier this month strongly condemned the Greek Cypriot administration's inclusion in a U.S. military partnership program, saying Ankara will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the Turkish Cypriot people.
On Sept. 30, the U.S. announced that under the Defense Department National Guard's State Partnership Program, the Greek Cypriot administration has been paired with the National Guard in the U.S. state of New Jersey. With the move, Washington, which on Sept. 16 lifted an arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration that had been in force since 1987, continues its provocative attitude towards the TRNC and Türkiye.
Türkiye has many times invited its NATO ally United States to adopt a neutral stance on the Cyprus issue.
The Greek Cypriot administration would not share anything with Turkish Cypriots, including water and electricity, Çavuşoğlu further said.
"Ankara continues its efforts to ensure the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus gets international recognition and status," he added.
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983. The TRNC is only officially recognized by Türkiye.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.'s Annan plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Today, the Turkish side supports a solution based on the equal sovereignty of the two states on the island. On the other hand, the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.
Türkiye, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that their excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots.