Turkey is not a party to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Tuesday.
In an interview with a Russian state broadcaster, Aliyev stressed that Turkey's role in the region was of a stabilizing nature.
"Turkey is our brotherly country and our ally. It gives us only moral support, and we are grateful for its solidarity," he added.
Commenting on Armenian allegations that Turkey shot down Armenian Su-25 fighter jet, Aliyev said no F-16 planes were deployed over Nagorno-Karabakh.
He also dismissed allegations of Syrian fighters' involvement in the conflict, saying there was no proof of that.
Aliyev rejected any possibility of talks with neighboring Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh and said that Yerevan's demands were unacceptable.
Border clashes broke out early Sunday when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian and military positions, leading to several casualties.
Azerbaijan's parliament declared a state of war in certain cities and regions across the country following Armenia's border violations and attacks in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.
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.
Four U.N. Security Council (UNSC) and two U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions, as well as many international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the occupying forces.
The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.
France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region.
