Ankara and Baku are working together for the reconstruction of the Karabakh region, an Azerbaijani territory previously referred to as Nagorno-Karabakh that was under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly 30 years, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday.
Aliyev said that Azerbaijan will not forget Turkey’s support during the conflict and reiterated that Ankara was on Baku's side from the first day of the Second Karabakh War until its last.
Speaking at the inauguration of Turkey’s Rize-Artvin Airport, Aliyev underlined that the war is a piece of history the countries share.
Turkey was a key backer of Azerbaijan during the 44-day Karabakh war between Baku and Yerevan, which erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, and ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire on Nov. 10. During the faceoff that started in September 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for nearly three decades. The peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.
After the conflict ended, Azerbaijan launched a massive reconstruction initiative in the liberated Karabakh region.
Turkish officials repeatedly said the country is "ready for whatever needs to be done" in Karabakh after its liberation from Armenia's nearly 30-year illegal occupation.
“We are friends, brothers and now officially allies. This policy is a legacy left to us from our ancestors,” Aliyev added, pointing out that with the signing of the Shusha Agreement, bilateral ties were lifted to the level of allies.
On June 15, 2021, Turkey and Azerbaijan signed a declaration “on allied relations” aimed at deepening ties in several areas of cooperation, including security, during a visit to Shusha, a city that Azerbaijan liberated from Armenian occupational forces in the conflict. The city, known as the pearl of Karabakh, was occupied by Armenia on May 8, 1992.
The declaration focuses on defense cooperation and establishing new transportation routes, affirming the joint efforts by the two armies in the face of foreign threats, and the restructuring and modernization of their armed forces.
Turkey today is a "power center" that "has a say across the world," he added.
