"Türkiye supports constructive steps aimed at resolving Russian-Azerbaijani tensions" - Erdogan

Turkey hopes that the tense situation between Azerbaijan and Russia will be resolved and that it will not harm the relations between the two countries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Our main wish is that these unfortunate incidents do not cause irreversible damage to the relations between the two countries. Local disagreements can be resolved within the framework of the given situation, and for this it is extremely important to maintain calm," he stressed.

According to Erdogan, both countries "have enough wisdom to overcome this crisis," and Turkey supports "constructive steps towards settlement," he noted.

"The Caucasus will no longer tolerate a new conflict," the Turkish president believes.

He added that he discussed the situation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who "is acting extremely carefully, not giving in to provocations and not provoking a conflict."

The aggravation of Russian-Azerbaijani relations was caused by the arrest of members of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Yekaterinburg in late June, which was followed by the arrest of several employees of Sputnik Azerbaijan, Russian citizens, in Baku.