The armies of Turkey and Azerbaijan launched joint military exercises on July 12 aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries, this according to a statement released by the Turkish General Staff.

The exercises follow a statement made last week by Armenia’s Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepyan in which he called for material compensation for the losses suffered by Armenians in 1915 and a return of Armenian Church properties in Turkey.

Hovsepyan, during an address at the Pan-Armenian Forum of Lawyers held in Yerevan, also noted that the border between Armenia and Turkey had never been formally established and that lost Armenian lands should be returned to Armenia.

Subsequent to Hovsepyan’s statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued the following response:

We deplore the declaration made by the Prosecutor General of Armenia, Aghvan Hovsepyan, during his presentation at the Pan-Armenian Forum of Lawyers held in Yerevan on 5-6 July 2013 - opened with the remarks of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan - that the border between Turkey and Armenia has never been legally established and that lost Armenian land should be returned to Armenia. 

Such a declaration made by an official occupying a position as important as that of Prosecutor General reflects the prevailing problematic mentality in Armenia as to the territorial integrity of its neighbor Turkey and to Turkish-Armenian relations and also contradicts the obligations it has undertaken towards the international organizations of which it is a member, particularly the UN and the OSCE. One should be well aware that no one can presume to claim land from Turkey.

Land forces of the Turkey and Azerbaijan will be involved in the war games in which an infantry division will be involved in the Baku exercises and a mechanized infantry division will take part in the exercises in Nakhijevan.