Azeri parliamentary group to visit occupied Cyprus days after Amb. Piperigos joined propaganda tour

On July 16, a parliamentary delegation from Azerbaijan will visit occupied Cyprus for the first time, Turkish outlet Anadolu reported.

Akif Çağatay Kılıç, chairman of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Turkish Parliament, described the forthcoming visit of the Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to occupied Cyprus as "historic."

Kılıç noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey are confidently looking into the future, adhering to the principle of “One people, two states.”

Turkey is proud of Azerbaijan’s successes, the Turkish parliamentarian said.

“This is the first ever visit of a parliamentary delegation from Azerbaijan to [occupied Cyprus]," he said.

"The head of the Turkish state will also attend the event. We are grateful to you for this important step.

"This is an important message to the whole world – another demonstration of friendship and brotherhood between Azerbaijan and Turkey."

It is noted that their visit to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus comes only days after Greek Ambassador Nikos Piperigos shamefully joined a propaganda tour of Nagorno-Karabakh that is currently under Azerbaijani control.

Last year, Turkey sponsored an Azerbaijani invasion of the historically and demographically Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azeri forces and Syrian mercenaries successfully captured large areas of the region, committing gross human rights violations like beheadings, using white phosphorus and deliberately targeting churches.

The Nakhichevan autonomous region of Azerbaijan already recognises the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" in violation of  United Nations Security Council Resolution 541 and UN Security Council Resolution 550.

This suggests that if the Armenian administration in the areas of Nagorno-Karabakh that were not invaded, based in the capital city of Stepanakert, ceased to exist, the Azerbaijani government would become the second country after Turkey to officially recognise the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”

Decisionmakers in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku for now have not officially recognised the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” out of fear that Greece and Cyprus can retaliate by recognising Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent republic.

It then begs the question why Ambassador Piperigos joined a propaganda tour of the captured areas of Nagorno-Karabakh, especially when his American, Russian and French counterparts refused to do so.

READ MORE: Greek Ambassador visits Nagorno-Karabakh on Azerbaijani propaganda tour.