Azernews.Az

By Aisha Jabbarova

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that a new reality has emerged in the region after the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that the regional countries must be involved in mutual cooperation now that the war is over.

Aliyev made the remarks while receiving the delegation led by Chairman of the Foreign Relations Commission of Grand National Assembly of Turkey Akif Chagatay Kilic on March 9.

“A new situation has emerged in our region now. A new reality has been created. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been consigned to history. It has been resolved. It is over. We must now look to the future and think about cooperation in our region, especially about the implementation of transport projects,” Aliyev said.

The president stressed that the opening of the Zangazur corridor is one of the most important issues on the agenda now.

"I am confident that we will achieve this through joint effort.”

Zangazur corridor is part of the November 10 peace deal that stipulates the unblocking of transport connections in the region. The peace deal also urges Armenia to provide security guarantees for Zangazur corridor that will connect Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave to other parts of the country through the territory of Armenia.

Furthermore, Aliyev highlighted the support Turkey and Azerbaijan render to each other, both bilaterally and within international organizations.

He stessed the political and moral support given by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, from the first hours of the Karbakh war.

“At the same time, the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Mustafa Sentop, and members of parliament expressed their solidarity and support. In other words, the days of war showed again how much our peoples are attached to each other, how much they love and respect each other,” Aliyev went on saying.

He further thanked the Turkish media and all public organizations for supporting his country during the war.

In turn, Akif Cagatay Kilic congratulated Azerbaijan on the victory in the second Karbakh war, adding that the visit aimed “to demonstrate our unity and solidarity.”

“We are representatives of four political parties in the Turkish Grand National Assembly that support your success, your leadership and, as you say, this turning point in the history of the region – as you know, the Turkish Grand National Assembly has adopted a statement to this effect,” Kilic said.

Its should be noted that Azerbaijan has repeatedly voiced its willingness to restore transport communications in the region.

Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders held first post-war meeting in Moscow on January 11 to discuss the provision 9 of the November peace deal that calls for the unblocking of transport communications. Under the statement published during the meeting, a working group chaired by the three countries’ deputy prime ministers was set up to ensure the provision of article 9 of the November deal. The working group formulated establishing railway and automobile communications.

Unblocking of transport connections had been restricted due to the three decades of conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

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