Turkish FM condemns Khojaly massacre before commemoration ceremony

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu has condemned Khojaly Massacre, speaking in Baku a day before the 23th anniversary of the incident, while a Turkish parliamentary committee has urged for the trial of those responsible for the incident, which caused the death of more than 600 ethnic Azerbaijanis.

"We ask Allah to bestow mercy on our brothers and sisters murdered in Khojaly, and we understand their pain," Çavu?o?lu, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijani capital of Baku, told a press conference on Feb. 25, after a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov.

"Once again, we curse the perpetuators of the Khojaly massacre," he added, vowing to "continue working to keep this issue at the agenda."

Çavu?o?lu also said he will visit the Khojaly monument tomorrow alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, to mark the anniversary of the event that took place on Feb. 25-26, 1992.

During the massacre, hundreds of ethnic Azerbaijanis - the majority of whom were women and children - were killed during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

According to international observers, the killing of 613 civilians was committed by ethnic Armenian armed forces, reportedly with the help of Russian soldiers.

The Turkish Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee has also released a statement on the issue, urging those responsible for the massacre to be put on trial by international courts and urging Armenia "to withdraw from the Azerbaijan lands it occupies."