Turkey backs Azerbaijan, says Armenia 'should cease provocations'

Turkey said on Tuesday it continued to back Azerbaijan and called on Armenia to "cease its provocations" after clashes erupted between the two South Caucasus countries that resumed decades-old hostilities.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar held talks with Azeri counterpart Zakir Hasanov, the ministry said. "He emphasised that Turkey has always stood by brotherly Azerbaijan and will continue to stand by it in its just causes," it said.

Early on Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported the clashes were linked to the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, over which Azerbaijan re-established full control in a six-week conflict in 2020. 

Baku and Yerevan have blamed each other for the flare-up. 

Turkey neighbours both countries but is a close ally of Azerbaijan and backed its effort to drive ethnic Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, including providing armed drones.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara's relations with Armenia were not independent of Yerevan-Baku ties. He also discussed the situation with Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

"Armenia should cease its provocations and focus on peace negotiations and cooperation with Azerbaijan," he said on Twitter after the talks.

Turkish and Azeri forces have held joint military drills since the 2020 conflict to improve their combat interoperability.

In the defence ministry statement, Akar referred to Armenia's "aggressive attitude and provocative actions".