MP: Turkiye takes into account Azerbaijan's stance on restoring relations with Armenia
By Vugar Khalilov
MP Efkan Ala, Deputy Chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in charge of foreign affairs, has said that Turkiye takes into account Azerbaijan’s stance on the normalization of ties with Armenia, Azernews reports.
Ala made the remarks at a joint press conference in the New Azerbaijan Party’s central office on June 16, the report added.
He stated that Turkiye continues meetings as part of the process of normalizing relations with Armenia.
“Meetings of special representatives were held. We expect the relationship to improve. I hope that the other side also focused on this. Results will be achieved that will benefit not only the two countries but all states of the region,” he said.
Speaking of the Turkiye-Azerbaijani ties, Deputy Chairman Ala stated that the nations have extremely excellent connections and that everyone is encouraged to learn from this brotherhood.
The MP emphasized the significance of his travel to Azerbaijan on the first anniversary of the signing of the Shusha Declaration on the allied relations between the two nations.
The visitor expressed delight with his participation in the international conference dedicated to this historic occasion in Shusha, saying he was glad to see the historical Turkic city of Shusha liberated from the Armenian occupation.
Ala stressed that friendship and fraternity between Turkiye and Azerbaijan have grown and developed over the years. According to him, the Turkish-Azerbaijani ties have achieved a new level as a result of Turkiye's support and continued collaboration with Azerbaijan during the 44-day war that saw the liberation of Karabakh from occupation in 2020.
In this regard, Turkiye stands by Azerbaijan with all its might in the post-war period on the path of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the liberated Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly stated this position, he added.
So far, the two fraternal countries have carried out significant cooperative initiatives. Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, and other projects are vivid examples of this.
“At the same time, we have boosted the two nations' trade turnover to $ 5 billion. However, our objective is to increase this sum to $ 15 billion or more. Concerning our parties' connections, we signed a cooperation pact last year, and extremely strong links have been developed between the YAP and the AK Party. These relations will be a driving force for the two countries to move forward as a single nation,” the Turkish MP stressed.
In assessing the work done over the last year since the signing of the Shusha Declaration, Ala stated that the Declaration signaled the beginning of a new age of peace in the Caucasus. This document is useful not just to Azerbaijan and Turkiye, but to the entire region, he underlined.
The official stressed that the region witnessed the beginning of a new era following the end of the long-running occupation and Azerbaijan's victorious war to liberate Karabakh in line with international law. The building of peace in the Caucasus is a major objective of this period, and Turkiye and Azerbaijan are taking significant steps in that direction. At the same time, a good regional format for cooperation in all areas with Armenia, Georgia, Russia, and Iran, has been proposed, he added.
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