Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan and Turkey will provide mutual support in conducting drills of Air Defense Forces, as Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has approved a relevant memorandum of understanding.

The memorandum was inked between the two fraternal countries on September 3, 2015 in Baku and on September 18, 2015 in Ankara.

Azerbaijan’s leader Ilham Aliyev signed a decree approving the Memorandum in December, 2015.

Baku and Ankara enjoy strategic relations in many fields, including the military. Military cooperation between these two neighboring nations dates back to 1992 when they signed an agreement on military education. Since then, the Azerbaijani and Turkish governments have been closely cooperating in both defense and security fields.

In December 2010, both countries signed a range of treaties provisioning for military assistance should any of the party be attacked by third party.

Based on numerous agreements on joint military exercises as part of bilateral progressive efforts towards military cooperation, the Azerbaijani and Turkish armed forces have hold regular drills, featuring various tactical and combat tasks so far.

Currently, Air Forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey are holding joint military drills TURAZ Sahini-2016 in the Turkish province of Konya.

The first "TurAz Qartali" drills of the Azerbaijani and Turkish Armies were held in Azerbaijan in September 2015. The exercises were conducted as part of an annual joint military plan.

The joint military exercises TurAz Qartalı or TurAz Shahini and drills of the Land Forces are a good example of the level of cooperation between the armies of both countries.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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