Baku, Ankara discuss region, Ukraine
By Vugar Khalilov
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu have discussed the region and Ukraine, the ministry reported on April 5.
In a telephone conversation, the ministers focused on the current regional situation, including the implementation of the trilateral statements signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as the situation in Ukraine, the report added.
The sides also discussed other issues of mutual interest.
On June 15, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, during Erdogan’s first official visit to Shusha, eight months after Azerbaijan’s victory in the war with Armenia in 2020. The document focuses on defence cooperation, promoting regional stability and prosperity, and establishing new transportation routes.
Azerbaijan and Turkey cooperate in various fields of economy and have jointly completed giant energy and infrastructure projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP.
Eleven agreements were signed between the two countries during the Azerbaijani-Turkish business forum held in Ankara on February 18. The agreements envisage the development of Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation in the economic, trade, and other spheres.
The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. It should be noted that so far, Turkey is Azerbaijan’s second-largest investor followed by the UK.
Additionally, Turkey was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.
Azerbaijan and Turkey periodically hold joint drills to improve interaction and communication between their army units. In 2021 number of joint drills took place with the participation of servicemen of the two countries.
The trilateral peace deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the 30-decade conflict over Azerbaijan’s former Nagorno-Karabakh region along with seven adjacent districts came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the 1990s.
On January 11, 2021, the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders signed the second statement since the end of the 44-day war. The newly-signed statement is set to implement clause 9 of the November 2020 statement related to the unblocking of all economic and transport communications in the region.
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