Syrian President Bashar Assad has called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “the main instigator and initiator” of the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In an interview with Sputnik published on Tuesday, Assad said Turkey has been backing terrorists in Syria and Libya, stressing that Damascus can confirm that Turkey is sending extremist militants from Syria to Karabakh

“Let’s be blunt and clear; Erdogan has supported terrorists in Syria, and he’s been supporting terrorists in Libya, and he was the main instigator and initiator of the recent conflict that has been going on in Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia. So, I would sum up his behavior as dangerous, for different reasons”, Assad said.

The Syrian president claimed that Erdogan’s manner “reflects the behavior of the Muslim Brotherhood”.

Erdogan “is creating war in different areas to distract his own public opinion in Turkey from focusing on his behavior inside Turkey, especially after his scandalous relations with Daesh in Syria”, Assad added, referring to the Arabic acronym for the Takfiri terrorist group ISIL.

The Syrian president, meanwhile, said Daesh used to sell Syrian oil through Turkey “under the umbrella of the American Air Force”.

“We definitely can confirm it, not because we have evidence, but sometimes if you don’t have evidence you have indicators. Turkey used terrorists coming from different countries in Syria. They used the same method in Libya; they used Syrian terrorists in Libya, maybe with other nationalities. So, it’s self-evident and very probable that they are using that method in Nagorno-Karabakh because as I said earlier, they are the ones who started this problem, this conflict; they encouraged this conflict. They want to achieve something and they’re going to use the same method”, Assad was quoted by Sputnik as saying.

Source: Agencies