Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın reiterated Turkey's determination to support Azerbaijan in face of Armenian aggression near the border, but he noted that this does not mean Ankara has closed its doors on diplomatic communication channels.
"Turkey will continue to stand beside Azerbaijan at all costs, but this does not mean we are against diplomatic channels," Kalın told a live broadcast on CNN Türk on Tuesday.
Twelve Azerbaijani soldiers, including a major general and a colonel, were killed and four others were injured in the recent border clashes.
Azerbaijan has blamed Armenia for the "provocative" actions, with Turkey throwing its weight behind Baku and warning Yerevan that it would not hesitate to stand against any kind of attack on its eastern neighbor.
A week after the attack, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Azerbaijani Deputy Defense Minister Ramiz Tahirov and Kerem Mustafayev, army chief of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an exclave of Azerbaijan bordering Armenia, Turkey and Iran, came together and discussed the recent situation.
Kalın also urged Greece to resolve bilateral problems through a bilateral approach rather than involving other countries in the matter.
"It will not be possible for Greece to reach results by using EU membership as a tool of pressure," Kalın said, in reference to Athens' and the Greek Cypriots' use of EU accession as a bargaining chip and a way to pressure Turkey.
