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Rena Murshud

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At a time when many joyful events have been taking place in the Turkic world in recent days, another expected step is the first visit of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baku after his election as president. The fact that this meeting is important will be connected with the completion of unfinished work, as well as the implementation of joint projects of the two fraternal countries. Turkiye's support is felt now, as on the eve of the war. Because the Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood not only does not resemble the sisterly relations of some countries, but will also be an example for the whole world. This friendship, which began many years ago, will leave an unforgettable mark in world history years later.

Speaking about the visit of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Azerbaijan, Turkish expert Engin Ozer told Azernews about the Shusha Declaration, which is considered an important segment of many meetings so far for both countries.

"According to the Shusha Declaration, if a third country attacks Azerbaijan or Turkiye, they will consider that this action is taking place on the territory of both countries and will act together. This article is an agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkiye based on Article 5 of NATO. Both countries are always ready to protect their mutual interests. The Shusha Declaration entered into force on the day of its signing."

Apart from the signed document, and as regards the brotherhood of the two countries, the expert also touched on the support of Turkiye to Azerbaijan in military sphere. "The volume of production of the military industry in Azerbaijan will be increased with the support of the Turkish company Bayraktar Holding. This means that they are ready to finance part of their operations located in Azerbaijan," Engin Ozer said.

The expert, who made certain predictions about the upcoming meeting, noted that discussions will begin regarding the production of parts of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) system in Azerbaijan. According to Ozer, the second matter of discussion would be of Turkish agricultural companies and planning to invest in the Azerbaijani economy in the context of the liberated Karabakh territory. And the third, would be oil & gas issue as the demand for natural gas in Europe has increased due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. "Azerbaijan is preparing in new areas such as oil and gas. And Turkiye will play a key role in this process since it is going to Europe through Turkiye. I would like to note that both presidents will touch upon this issue at today's meeting," he stressed.

Clarifying the question regarding the future support and contributions of the fraternal country to the development of Karabakh, the expert noted that Turkiye, like the support it showed in the Patriotic War, continues to show this kind of support in various fields in the future: "Currently, only restoration work is being carried out in Karabakh. Turkiye is currently supporting technology investments for the brotherly country."

According to the expert, the statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is a very important issue. When peace is signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia, this means that 95 percent of the issue has already been resolved, and Azerbaijan can be considered to have covered more than half of the way.

In conclusion, the Turkish expert, referring to the Zangazur project, which is the focus of interest not only for Azerbaijan, but for many countries, said that this vital segment within the giant BRI project is expected to be implemented by the end of 2024.

"Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Turkiye, as well as the meetings of the ministers of both countries in Europe, is a successful step towards normalizing relations with Armenia. The solution of this issue depends on the implementation of the Zangazur corridor project. I am sure that, with slow and at the same time confident steps, Azerbaijan is only moving forward," Engin Ozer concluded.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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