Turkish President Abdullah Gul reaffirmed his country’s unconditional support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and criticized international mediators ahead of a state visit to Baku that began on Monday.

Reports from Baku said the two leaders signed a new Turkish-Azerbaijani agreement on “strategic partnership” and “mutual assistance.” Details of the agreement were not immediately made public.

“We are one nation with separate states. We come together frequently based on such an understanding. We will continue our solidarity and cooperation,” Gul said at a press conference following his meeting with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, Asbarez.com reports.

The Turkish president also took a swipe at U.S., Russian and French mediators co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group. “We want the Minsk Group to move close to the conflict’s resolution,” he said. “But as things stand now, people call visits to the region by Minsk Group representatives ‘tourist trips.’ Therefore, new steps need to be taken.”

Gul appeared to single out Russia’s “important” role in the mediation process. But he also acknowledged that “such difficult problems can not solved under pressure from of a single country.”