Azernews.Az

BAKU - Turkey and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on strategic partnership and mutual support during Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Baku on Monday, following talks on a wide range of issues.

During a meeting prior to signing the deal, Presidents Abdullah Gul and Ilham Aliyev praised the comprehensive development of friendly and fraternal relations between the two countries, voicing confidence that bilateral ties would continue to expand.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Karabakh was high on the agenda during the talks. The Turkish leader said the steps Ankara is taking to achieve a settlement to the long-lasting dispute at times continue in the shape of "silent diplomacy". President Gul added that Turkey and Azerbaijan stand by one another on all issues.

Gul noted that Turkey supports a peaceful solution of the Karabakh conflict complying with Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, pledging that his country would continue making an effort to achieve comprehensive peace in the volatile South Caucasus.

Gul said he had discussed with President Aliyev the joint efforts made to restore peace in the region and further steps.

"We are particularly focused on these issues, because frozen conflicts, especially the ones that have long been frozen, could suddenly turn into huge regional problems. Resolving such problems requires not several attempts, but hard work. Substantial work should be done -- sometimes openly and sometimes covertly. At times Turkey presses ahead with these efforts silently, but decisively."

The two leaders said visa regulations between Turkey and Azerbaijan were on the agenda as well. President Aliyev said certain procedures were being carried out in Azerbaijan in this regard.

Turkey has already waived visas for Azerbaijani citizens, while Azerbaijan has yet to follow suit.

The parties also emphasized the importance of the signed strategic partnership agreement. Aliyev said the document outlines relations between the two brotherly nations for decades to come.

During a news conference, the two presidents pointed out that the ongoing regional projects have fostered a new situation in the region.

It was particularly highlighted that Azerbaijan plays an important role for the unification of the whole Turkic world.

"Turkey-Azerbaijan relations hold a special place in the overall unification of the whole Turkic world," the Azerbaijani leader said.

The parties also announced that the next summit of the Turkic countries’ leaders will be held in Turkey soon.

President Gul is expected to head to the Shaki and Zagatala regions, 400 km northwest of the capital Baku, on Tuesday. Later in the day, he will leave for Turkey from the Zagatala international airport.

Great hopes are bound in Azerbaijan with the Turkish president’s visit. The authorities, opposition and independent political analysts support further expanding relations between the two countries. Particularly, after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev backed Yerevan’s stance during the meeting among the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders held in St. Petersburg in June, calls increased for Azerbaijan to pursue a consistent foreign policy leaning toward Turkey and the West. Furthermore, the agreement due to be signed this week by Russia and Armenia on expanding the status of the Russian military base in the South Caucasus republic has triggered statements calling for Baku’s stepping up its military cooperation with NATO and Ankara in particular.

Elkhan Shahinoglu, the head of Baku-based Atlas research center, says that at a time Russian-Armenian military cooperation is expanding, Azerbaijan should boost collaboration in this field with Turkey and the United States.

But Mubariz Gurbanly, deputy executive secretary of the ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP), believes President Gul’s visit is not linked to the expanding military cooperation between Moscow and Yerevan. He also said the visit is of great importance for restoring stability in the region and for boosting economic and trade relations.

Azerbaijan’s opposition Musavat party has opposed the draft agreement that envisions extending Russian military presence in Armenia up to 49 years and using the Gyumri base to ensure Armenia’s security. Its leader, Isa Gambar, called on the Azerbaijani government to broaden the country’s military cooperation with Turkey and NATO.

Gambar also said Azerbaijan should cancel its visa regime with Turkey and recognize Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a terror group.

On the eve of his visit, President Gul made a statement where he underlined that establishing a long-term peace and stability in the Caucasus is a key priority of the Turkish foreign policy.

Gul said that Turkey is closely monitoring the processes in the Caucasus and is actively involved in establishing a lasting and durable peace.