Erdogan: Türkiye was accused of supporting Azerbaijan during 44-day war

During the 44-day Patriotic War in Karabakh, rumors spread by enemies accused Türkiye of supporting Azerbaijan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during the AK Party (Justice and Development Party) Turkish World Vision Document Presentation Program.

Report quotes the Turkish leader as saying a CHP (Republican People's Party) representative had made baseless claims alleging that Türkiye provided weapons to Azerbaijan and, according to rumors, sent jihadist groups there.

"Just as in the Boraltan tragedy of 1945, they made the same mistake during Karabakh's struggle for liberation; they shamed and disappointed our nation. We witnessed the same unscrupulous behavior not only in Karabakh but earlier in Syria as well," Erdogan added.

He described the Boraltan tragedy as a dark stain in Türkiye's history.

"Speaking of the existence of the Turkic world was forbidden not only beyond our borders but also during the single-party era in Türkiye in the 1940s. At that time, even saying that Turks lived outside Türkiye was considered a crime. During this period, they handed over Azerbaijani Turks who had sought refuge in Türkiye from Azerbaijan to their killers, knowing full well that they would be shot at the Boraltan Bridge. The Boraltan tragedy is a dark stain left by CHP in Türkiye's history. This tragedy inflicted deep wounds on the spiritual world of our nation and Azerbaijani Turks," he said.