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03 Oct 2020
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Fighting between Azerbaijan, Armenia continues, cease-fire calls rejected

October 3, 2020

Fighting continued in and around the contested Nagorno-Karabakh enclave Saturday as the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia set seemingly impossible terms for agreeing to calls from the leaders of the US, France and Russia for a cease-fire.For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“Cease-fire ok, but on what conditions? Conditions must be that they withdraw from the territories, Aliyev said in a website statement, referring to Armenian forces. “We heard it many times, we don’t have time to wait another 30 years. The conflict must be resolved now.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia is ready to accept a truce but only if Turkish forces leave the area, AFP reported. Ankara backs Azerbaijan but denies it has any military presence there.Officials reported shelling and rocket fire in and around Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh.Nagorno-Karabakh said on Saturday that 51 more servicemen had been killed in the war withAzerbaijan, a sharp rise in the death toll from a week of fierce fighting.Arayik Harutyunyan, president of the ethnic Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan, said earlier he had traveled to join hisforces on the front line.Armenia has controlled the enclave and surrounding regions -- all internationally recognized to be within Azerbaijan’s borders -- since a war in the early 1990s. Azerbaijan accused Armenian forces of shelling villages nearby Saturday. The latest battles began a week ago and have provoked calls from the presidents of Russia, France and the US for a cease-fire.French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Friday and proposed restarting talks in the so-called Minsk Group, which has led peace efforts since the 1990s, his office said in a statement.But Turkey rejected those appeals, saying the three powers were biased in favor of Armenia.The Armenian Foreign Ministry said Friday in a website statement that renewed allegations of “joint actions by Azerbaijan and Turkey in the conflict raised “risks of a full-fledged war. The authorities in Baku and Ankara have denied Turkish forces are involved.The unrecognized government Armenia backs in Nagorno-Karabakh says it’s lost 154 soldiers and 11 civilians in the latest fighting. Azerbaijan said 20 of its civilians have been killed; it hasn’t released figures on military casualties.Aliyev has vowed to continue the military campaign until Armenian forces leave Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts that were taken during a war after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. The violence that began Sunday is more intense and widespread than at any time since Russia brokered a 1994 cease-fire to halt the war that killed about 30,000 and displaced more than a million people.The confrontation adds to tensions between Russia and Turkey over proxy conflicts in Syria and Libya. Russia has an army base in Armenia and the two nations have a mutual-defense pact, though it doesn’t cover the disputed territory. Azerbaijan, which has close historical and linguistic ties to Turkey, hosted large-scale joint exercises with the Turkish military last month.With ReutersRead more:Pompeo urges third parties to stay out of Azerbaijan-Armenia conflictArmenian Yazidis join fight against Azerbaijan in Nagorno-KarabakhCanada probes alleged use of its tech in Armenia-Azerbaijan clash
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Fighting between Azerbaijan, Armenia continues, cease-fire calls rejected

03 Oct 2020
News Permalink

Saudis must boycott ‘everything Turkish,’ says commerce head after Erdogan remarks

October 3, 2020

The head of Saudi Arabia’s Chamber of Commerce called on Saturday for a boycott of “everything Turkish” including imports, investment, and tourism, saying it is “the responsibility of every Saudi.”The call for a boycott comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that some countries in the Arabian Gulf were targeting Turkey and pursuing policies that destabilized the region.“It should not be forgotten that the countries in question did not exist yesterday, and probably will not exist tomorrow; however, we will continue to keep our flag flying in this region forever, with the permission of Allah,” said Erdogan on Thursday, addressing Turkey's General Assembly.For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.His words sparked backlash, with Saudi Arabia’s Chamber of Commerce head Ajlan al-Ajlan calling for a boycott of Turkish goods.“Boycotting everything Turkish, whether on the level of import, investment or tourism, is the responsibility of every Saudi - trader and consumer- in response to the continued hostility of the Turkish government against our leadership, our country and our citizens,” said al-Ajlan in a post on Twitter.If the directive is followed, it would affect thousands of Turkish exporters at a time when the Turkish economy is in tatters.Turkish economyThe Turkish lira has taken a nosedive, descending to a record low on Monday at over 7.7 versus the US dollar.The lira is one of the world’s worst performing currencies this year, down 22 percent, according to Reuters.The impact of the coronavirus combined with a currency crisis that began in 2018 has led to a sharp recession, with gross foreign exchange reserves at the central bank falling by nearly half this year.Western capital is also fleeing the Turkish markets, according to former Turkish parliament member Aykan Erdemir.“Turkey suffers from a chronic current account deficit and the ongoing Western exodus from Turkish bonds and equities exacerbates the problem,” Erdemir, now senior director of the Turkey program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Al Arabiya English.Who’s to blame?Turkey’s President Erdogan has blamed foreign actors for the state of the economy, claiming in May that foreign plots seek to undermine the country’s commerce.Opponents instead point to the policies of finance minister Berat Albayrak, aged 41, who is Erdogan’s son-in-law.Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said last month that Albayrak “destroyed Turkey’s economy” during a speech and that nepotism was the only reason for Albayrak’s appointment.“Someone needs to be held accountable for the lira’s loss of value,” Davutoglu said, according to Turkish news outlet Duvar.Another argument made by Erdogan critics is that the Turkish government is paying more attention to winning on foreign battlefield than fixing the economic crisis, and using the country’s resources to fight battles in Syria, Libya, and now Azerbaijan.Read more:Turkish currency in further trouble as lira hits 7.49 low against US dollarSaudi Arabia to cut spending by 7.5 percent in next year’s budget to $263.94 blnSaudi Arabia’s stock exchange Tadawul to launch single stock futures next year
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Saudis must boycott ‘everything Turkish,’ says commerce head after Erdogan remarks