Despite all the efforts, Turkey was unable to prevent the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh region, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Axar.az reports citing Anadolu News Agency.

“During that period Turkey was not a strong country,” President Erdogan added.

“Turkey has learned from the current events at its borders and realized that it should be very strong,” the president said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.