Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said Saturday that Turkey's attitude and comments on attacks by Armenia show that his country is not alone in its just cause.
Aliyev recalled that the Armenian Army launched another military provocation Sept. 27 against Azerbaijan and opened fire on settlements and military positions with various weapons, including heavy artillery.
"Your clear remarks on the issue (of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute) once again showed that Azerbaijan is not alone in its just cause," Aliyev said in an open letter to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
He reiterated Turkey's position toward Armenian attacks, which Ankara strongly condemned at every level and has seen as a treacherous act since the violence's first minutes.
Mentioning that he receives letters of support from Turks every day, Aliyev stressed that these are clear examples of the two nations' brotherhood which is appreciated by Azerbaijanis.
"On behalf of myself and the Azerbaijani people, I thank you and the brotherly Turkish people for this support," he added.
On Saturday, Erdoğan reiterated Turkey’s backing of Azerbaijan in its fight to protect territories against Armenian aggression and occupation.
Erdoğan said that Turkey supports the "oppressed" in the Caucasus, adding: "We strive day and night for our country to take its deserved place in the global world order. We stand by the oppressed everywhere from Syria to Libya, from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Caucasus."
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also told Italian newspaper La Stampa that Russia could play an intermediating role in a cease-fire "only if it is neutral."
"Superficial demands for an immediate end to hostilities and a permanent cease-fire will not be useful this time," he was quoted as saying by Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency (AA).
Moscow has a defense pact with Yerevan but also good relations with Baku.
Clashes due to the territorial disputes between the two Caucasus countries broke out last Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties. Azerbaijan's parliament declared martial law in some of its cities and regions following Yerevan's border violations and attacks in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.
On Monday, Baku also announced partial military mobilization amid the clashes.
Relations between the two former Soviet nations have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.
In addition to four United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and two U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions, many international organizations are demanding the withdrawal of the occupying forces.
The Minsk Group, which was set up in 1992 by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and is co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, has failed to achieve it goals. A cease-fire, however, was agreed to in 1994.
France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region.
Since the beginning of the latest fighting, the two sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses on opposing forces and ignored repeated calls from international leaders to halt the violence.