Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Russia of siding with Armenia in the resurgent conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorny Karabakh, saying Moscow was meddling as it had in Ukraine and Syria. 


Erdogan's comments are likely to further fuel tensions between Turkey and Russia, whose relations drastically deteriorated after Ankara downed a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in November. 


Erdogan also accused Armenia of not sticking to a truce with Turkey's ally Azerbaijan in Nagorny Karabakh, which was captured from Azerbaijan by Armenian separatists in an early 1990s war. 


"I hope the steps taken by Azerbaijan to end fighting will be imitated by Armenia, but this is not the case right now," said Erdogan. 


"Russia says that Turkey is taking sides. If we are looking for someone who is taking sides, it is Russia," he said. 


"Russia likes taking sides, it has done so in Ukraine, Georgia and today in Syria," said Erdogan

Source: NNA