Politics
Azerbaijan commemorates victims of genocide by Armenian gangs
March 31 marks the “Day of Genocide” of Azerbaijanis, a chilling episode in the history of the country where 50,000 people were slaughtered by Armenian gangs in 1918. The day is a painful reminder of the past for Azerbaijan, which only recently managed to retake its territory from Armenian occupiers.
At the beginning of the 20th century, in the final days of Tsarist Russia, Armenians who had been settled in various regions of Azerbaijan took advantage of the power vacuum to begin massacring Azerbaijanis and seizing their lands.
Arming themselves from 1905 onward, the Armenian gangs stirred up unrest across the country, particularly in Baku.
With the revolution in Russia in 1917, the Tsarist regime collapsed. The Bolsheviks, who came to power, also took control of the administration in Baku. Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary Stepan Shaumian provided political and financial support to Armenian gangs, leading to an increase in attacks against Azerbaijanis.
Between March 30 and April 3, 1918, Armenian and Bolshevik gangs massacred 50,000 Azerbaijanis in Baku, Shamakhi, Guba, Khachmaz, Lankaran, Hajigabul, Salyan, Zangezur, Karabakh, Nakhchivan and other regions. The massacre ended when the Ottoman army, known as the “Caucasian Islamic Army,” came to Azerbaijan’s aid and cleared the country of these gangs.
The atrocities and massacres committed by Armenians in Azerbaijan in 1918 are recognized as “genocide.”
The late President Heydar Aliyev, through a decree signed in 1998, decided that March 31 would be commemorated as “Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis.”
Azerbaijan’s ombudsman, Sabina Aliyeva, stated that the events of March-April 1918 were one of the bloodiest and most tragic examples of systematic attacks against Azerbaijanis.
In a statement to an Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent on Tuesday, Aliyeva said that systematic and ruthless crimes have been committed against Azerbaijanis by Armenians since the beginning of the 20th century, both in various regions of Azerbaijan and in present-day Armenia.
Stating that thousands of innocent people were killed during this process due to their national and religious identities, Aliyeva noted that these events have gone down in history as mass massacres.
Aliyeva emphasized that the international recognition of the genocide crimes committed against Azerbaijanis and the ensuring of justice are of great importance to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes against humanity in the future.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance, values or position of Daily Sabah. The newspaper provides space for diverse perspectives as part of its commitment to open and informed public discussion.
Anti-Semitism is still the most powerful weapon in Israel’s international lobbying to justify its genocidal attacks on Palestinians since 2023. In the post-truth world, Israel conveniently exploited the genuinely real phenomenon for its own purposes, tagging anyone opposing the country’s aggressive policies toward Palestinians and other countries.
Türkiye has had its fair share of anti-Semitism accusations, especially after October 2023, when the new round of the Palestine-Israel conflict began. Yet, these accusations do not translate into the facts on the ground, that is, although the Turkish public and politicians are strictly “anti-Israeli,” they do not necessarily harbor a hatred for Jews, or rather, take action based on this hatred, against Jews and even Israel. Israel’s efforts to portray anti-Zionism or even discourse against the incumbent Netanyahu administration as anti-Semitism spread across the world and surfaced most concretely in the U.S. but in Türkiye, the situation appears different.
Last March, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was clear about Türkiye’s stand on anti-Semitism. As he attended a dinner with representatives of the faiths in Türkiye, including the chief rabbi of the Jewish community of the country, Erdoğan underlined that anti-Semitism was as much a crime against humanity as Islamophobia, “an unreasonable evil that cannot be legitimized.”
“We built a country where everyone feels equal, free and safe,” he underlined while he pledged no tolerance against “Daesh and other dark networks bombing places of worship, from mosques and churches to synagogues.”
What Israel and pro-Israeli or Zionist lobbies are portraying as anti-Semitism in Türkiye are limited to a strong discourse against Israel’s genocidal policies, something that has been most evident in massive rallies since 2023 against the Netanyahu administration’s genocide in Gaza and attacks in the regional countries.
Several media outlets that appear supportive of the government occasionally use wording lumping the global Jewish community with Israel’s genocidal actions, despite considerable opposition by Jews themselves to those actions. Yet, the mainstream media in Türkiye, relentless in its criticism of Zionism and the Netanyahu administration, largely shuns anti-Semitic tropes. Instead, they squarely focus on Israel’s massacres and Türkiye’s efforts to stop them. Indeed, Türkiye has doggedly pursued diplomacy to end the genocide, mostly due to the enormous support in the West for Israel that hindered any non-diplomatic, collective action to stop what Turkish authorities called a “Hitler-like regime” in Tel Aviv.
One of the most glaring examples of anti-Semitism in recent years can be calls for stripping citizenship of Türkiye’s Jews, as some among the community also serve in the Israeli army. Even this has more to do with those accused of aiding Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, rather than a questioning of the “patriotism” of Türkiye’s Jewry.
Türkiye’s Jewish community numbers below 20,000, though no official figures are available. Some among those with dual citizenship proudly display their service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on their social media accounts. In parallel, Turkish social media has been awash with calls for terminating the citizenship of those they called “loyal” to Israel rather than Türkiye. Nevertheless, this social media campaign, perpetuated by hardline anti-Israeli circles in the country, has gone unanswered by the authorities so far.
A report by the Academics and Authors Association of Islamic Countries (AYBİR), based in Istanbul, released two years ago, tried to gauge whether anti-Semitism raged in the country after 2023 and how the Jewish community in Türkiye responded to it. The report prepared by associate professor Eldar Hasanoğlu notes that the Jewish community has been largely silent about Israel’s attacks, while some members have been open to their opposition to the genocide. The report also confirms the absence of a full-on anti-Semitism translating into violence.
The Jewish community, from a religious perspective, has been loyal to the state in which they live, something most evident in the Hanoten Teshua, the Jewish prayer for the government of the country in which they have citizenship. Some researchers trace the origin of this prayer to Sephardic Jews of the 16th century, who fled oppression in Spanish territories to the Ottoman Empire, where they were warmly embraced and have called it home since then. As a matter of fact, most of the Jewish community, particularly those living in Istanbul, are descendants of these people.
To an extent, AYBİR’s report links the perceived silence of Türkiye’s Jews on Israel’s genocide to the reaction of Turkish people to Israel, apparently fearing genuine anti-Semitism could rear its ugly head. Their fear, in some ways, is justified as the community was targeted in the past, most notably during the 2003 terror attacks on Istanbul’s major synagogue, Neve Şalom, which, to this day, is under police protection.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday received Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for security talks in Istanbul.
Zelenskyy’s visit comes a day after Erdoğan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who accused Kyiv of attempting to target the gas pipeline between Russia and Türkiye that also supplies several European countries.
“Arrived in Istanbul, where important meetings are scheduled. Substantive talks have been prepared with the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” said Zelenskyy on X.
“We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure real protection of people’s lives, advance stability and guarantee security in our Europe, as well as in the Middle East,” he added.
The Turkish presidency also confirmed the visit, saying that the meeting will focus on “efforts towards a ceasefire and a lasting solution, particularly within the framework of the Istanbul process.”
An AFP correspondent saw a heavy police presence around the lavish Dolmabahçe Palace on the shores of the Bosphorus, which also hosted talks between Moscow in Kyiv in the past.
Zelenskyy will also meet Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of most Christian Orthodox churches.
This takes place a week before Orthodox Easter, which is celebrated in both Ukraine and Russia on April 12.
Kyiv has been pushing for a truce over the Orthodox Easter holidays that would include a halt in attacks on energy infrastructure.
Russia, which is seeking a permanent settlement rather than a brief ceasefire, said it had not seen any “clearly formulated” proposals from Kyiv.
Ukraine has struck Russian energy infrastructure throughout the more than four-year war in a bid to weaken Moscow’s ability to finance its offensive.
Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities have cut power and heating to millions of people since the beginning the war in 2022.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told NATO chief Mark Rutte in a phone call on Saturday that the ongoing war involving Iran is heading toward a “geostrategic impasse,” urging the international community to step up efforts to end the conflict, according to an official statement.
The call addressed regional and global developments as well as issues on the agenda of NATO, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said.
Erdoğan stressed that the escalation triggered by intervention against Iran risks prolonging instability and underscored the need for intensified diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting.
Highlighting alliance cooperation, Erdoğan pointed to NATO’s support for Türkiye’s air defense, saying solidarity during the current crisis has once again demonstrated the alliance’s deterrent capability.
He also reiterated Ankara’s continued efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Russia-Ukraine war, emphasizing Türkiye’s role in mediation initiatives.
Marking NATO’s 77th anniversary during the call, Erdoğan expressed hope that the upcoming NATO summit scheduled for July 7–8, 2026, in Ankara would yield decisions aimed at strengthening the alliance’s resilience and effectiveness against future challenges.
Turkish authorities have found no signs of external interference or explosives on the military C-130 cargo plane that crashed on the Georgia-Azerbaijan border last November, prosecutors in Ankara said Friday.
The Military Crimes Investigation Bureau continues its probe into the C-130 aircraft, which crashed in Georgia’s Kakheti region on Nov. 11, 2025. The crash resulted in the deaths of 20 soldiers, marking the NATO member’s highest military death toll since 2020. The plane had departed from Azerbaijan en route to Türkiye.
C-130 aircraft are widely used by Türkiye’s armed forces for transporting personnel and logistics. Following the crash, Ankara suspended flights by its C-130 fleet.
“No shrapnel traces or damage from ammunition detonations were found,” the Gendarmerie General Command’s criminal report said. “No traces of explosions from handmade devices, or any explosives and their components, were found. No fire-starting petroleum derivatives or fire-accelerating substances were detected, and no suspicious chemicals were identified in elemental analysis.”
Meanwhile, the Air Force Command continues its investigation, with full cooperation from Georgian authorities. Forensic examinations of the 20 soldiers’ remains have been completed, and investigators are reviewing digital materials as a preliminary report is prepared ahead of the final report.
Months after the incident, a Turkish F-16 jet crashed shortly after takeoff in western Balıkesir province in late February, killing the pilot. The Defense Ministry said the jet had been dispatched on a rapid response mission to investigate an unidentified radar contact near the Bulgarian border.
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held separate phone calls with Iranian, Egyptian and U.S. officials to discuss the course of the war and efforts to bring it to an end, diplomatic sources said Friday.
According to sources from the Foreign Ministry, Fidan spoke with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and U.S. officials.
The discussions focused on the latest developments in the conflict and ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at halting the war.
Fidan emphasized the importance of intensifying efforts to stop the fighting and prevent further escalation, the sources added.
Fidan’s talks came as Iran downed a U.S. fighter jet and rejected a 48-hour cease-fire proposal.
Last month, Türkiye, Pakistan and Egypt passed messages between Washington and Tehran to facilitate talks.
Türkiye has sought to avoid aligning itself with any side in the conflict, maintaining a careful diplomatic balance as tensions escalate. Ankara has worked to strengthen ties with the United States in recent years, particularly during President Donald Trump’s administration, while also sustaining relatively stable political relations with Iran.
Positioned at the intersection of Europe and Asia and at the heart of a volatile Middle East, Türkiye faces significant challenges in preserving neutrality. Despite this, the government continues to pursue what it describes as a “peace diplomacy” approach, aiming to engage all parties and promote de-escalation without becoming directly involved in the conflict.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday called for an immediate cease-fire in the Middle East, with Erdoğan stressing that Türkiye does not approve of attacks on Iran or Tehran’s retaliatory actions, as the war continues to threaten broader regional and global stability, the Presidential Communications Directorate said in a statement.
During the phone call, Erdoğan emphasized that Ankara rejects both the initial strikes targeting Iran and Tehran’s responses against regional countries, underscoring that Türkiye is maintaining intensive diplomatic contacts with all parties to prevent the conflict from spiraling further out of control.
He also warned that the Israeli government’s aggressive policies across the region must be restrained, stressing that any attempts to erode the status of Jerusalem would be unacceptable.
The Turkish president further highlighted the importance of preserving stability in Syria, noting that developments there are being closely monitored and that strengthening stability serves the common interests of both Türkiye and Russia. He cautioned against jeopardizing the fragile gains achieved in the country.
On the Russia-Ukraine war, Erdoğan reiterated that Türkiye’s efforts to facilitate peace must not be undermined. He urged all sides to avoid steps that could escalate tensions, warning that attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea harm regional stability.
He also stressed that the ongoing Iran-centered conflict should not create new fronts in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Kremlin, for its part, said both leaders shared a common position on the need for an immediate cease-fire and the pursuit of compromise-based peace agreements that take into account the legitimate interests of all regional states.
“It was noted that intense military action is leading to serious negative consequences not only regionally but also globally, including in the areas of energy, trade, and logistics,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
The two leaders also discussed the importance of coordinated efforts to ensure security in the Black Sea, with Moscow accusing Ukraine of attempting to target gas infrastructure linking Russia and Türkiye.
Russian energy giant Gazprom said Thursday that its forces repelled a drone attack on part of the TurkStream pipeline, which connects southern Russia to Türkiye and supplies gas to several European countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia.
The developments come as Ukraine continues to target Russian energy infrastructure in an effort to weaken Moscow’s war financing capabilities, while Russian strikes have left millions of Ukrainians without electricity and heating since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The Middle East war, triggered over a month ago by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, has since expanded across the region, rattling global markets and affecting millions worldwide.
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