The Century of Türkiye will simultaneously be the age of the Turkic world, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday, following his postelection visit to Azerbaijan.
“We showed solidarity by making our first visits to Azerbaijan with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) after the 14 and 28 May elections. Hopefully, the Century of Türkiye will also be the century of the Turkic world,” Erdoğan wrote on social media.
He added that efforts are undertaken to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).
“As Türkiye and Azerbaijan, we enjoy a strategic location between the east and the west. Befitting our brotherhood, our cooperation in all areas, including trade, energy, defense industry and transportation, will further deepen,” Erdoğan said.
The president also touched upon the tensions between Baku and Yerevan, saying: “With the signing of the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, our region will attain much more prosperous conditions. We are carrying out this dialogue process in full coordination with my brother Ilham. I also believe that we will see the positive results of these contacts in the near future.”
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent regions.
Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian Army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that Armenia had occupied for almost 30 years.
The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.
However, the cease-fire has been broken several times since then.
Besides Türkiye, Moscow, Washington and the European Union are all trying separately to help ensure permanent peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Erdoğan arrived in Azerbaijan from Turkish Cyprus, his first port of call after winning a presidential runoff two weeks ago. His two-decade rule extended until 2028.
“Türkiye and Azerbaijan are two sister nations,” Erdoğan told a news conference alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
“We have walked together up to this point as two states and one nation. From here on out, we will continue on our way resolutely.”
