Turkey's Erdogan slams OSCE over Azerbaijan, Armenia dispute

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed on Thursday the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for not taking a firm step to mediate a border dispute between two former Soviet republics.

"The process is parried with delaying tactics," said Erdogan at a joint press conference with visiting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The Turkish president also agreed to pledge his support for Azerbaijan's resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Azerbaijan and Armenia, two ex-Soviet neighbors, have been locked in a conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and some adjacent territory.

Azerbaijan claimed it owned these disputed areas, which is now under the control of Armenian soldiers and local Armenian forces since a 1994 Russia-brokered cease-fire that ended a six-year conflict between the two.

So far, talks over the land spat for a peaceful settlement have stalled.

According to recent media reports, Ivica Dacic, Serbian foreign minister and OSCE chairman, will discuss the issue with the officials of Azerbaijan and Armenia during his visit to the South Caucasus.

Dacic said during a visit to Azerbaijan in September that his country, which is to chair the OSCE in 2015, intends to focus on the settlement of the conflict.

The Armenian defense ministry said on Monday that its military forces clashed with a group of Azerbaijani gunmen, adding that two people were killed.

According to the ministry, the incident occurred late Sunday when a group of Azerbaijani gunmen tried to cross into Armenia, and an Armenian civilian and an Azerbaijani intruder were killed in the skirmish.

However, Azerbaijan's defense ministry denied that such incident had occurred, according to the Interfax news agency. Endit