Top official eyes Turkey's role in ensuring regional peace in South Caucasus

By Vafa Ismayilova

Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has said that Azerbaijan and Turkey face important tasks to change the regional geopolitics and direct it towards cooperation and development, Trend has reported.

Hajiyev made the remarks at the webinar "Upcoming 10 years of Azerbaijani-Turkish relations" held in Baku on January 27.

“Turkey borders on all three countries of the South Caucasus, therefore Turkey must play an important role in making the fragile peace in the region sustainable,” he said.

The presidential aide stressed that solid foundations exist for a close union between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

“Azerbaijan and Turkey jointly implemented such global projects as the TAP [Trans-Adriatic Pipeline], the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars [railway], the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [oil pipeline]. The two countries also closely cooperate within the framework of international organizations in the field of diaspora,” he added.

Hajiyev noted that Azerbaijan benefited from cooperation with Turkey during the 44-day with Armenia between September 27 and November 10. He added that Azerbaijan witnessed the successful result of the military-technical cooperation with Turkey and the effectiveness of the Bayraktar UAVs that Azerbaijan used in the battles during the war.

The top official underlined that the successful result of cooperation and effectiveness of the UAVs are based on great scientific potential. Hajiyev said that the two countries established close cooperation in the scientific field as well.

"Our main goal for the coming period is to strengthen this cooperation," the presidential aide noted.

Hajiyev added that this cooperation is aimed at strengthening regional peace and is not directed against anyone. He noted that any regional country could benefit from this cooperation.

"If Armenia abandons its occupation policy, it will be able to take advantage of regional cooperation, and new opportunities may also open up for it," he said.

Speaking about the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from occupation, Hajiyev said that the new situation opened up new regional opportunities.

He described Azerbaijani-Turkish ties as eternal and added that bilateral relations will surely strengthen and develop in the coming decades. Hajiyev said that the policy pursued by the leaders of both countries contributes to the exemplary development of bilateral ties.

"Our task is to develop ties between the two countries in all directions," Hajiyev added.

Azerbaijani-Turkish relations have always been strong with the two often being described as "one nation with two states". Turkey is one of the first countries to recognize Azerbaijan's independence on June 4, 1918, and the first to recognize Azerbaijan's restoration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, Turkey has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity and realize its economic potential arising from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea. The two countries share an 11-kilometre border, with the Araz River separating Turkey from Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave. 

Turkey and Russia are represented with the equal number of servicemen in the joint centre to monitor the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh under a trilateral peace agreement signed by Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia on November 10 to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

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