Türkiye and Azerbaijan celebrate 33 years of diplomatic ties, established in 1992 after Baku declared its independence from the Soviet Union.
The Turkish Consulate in Baku was transformed into an Embassy on the same day, officially kickstarting bilateral diplomatic relations, which have progressed to the level of allies since then.
The two countries, which share a border only through Azerbaijan’s autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, have deeper ties than they did 33 years ago.
Bilateral relations between the Turkish and Azerbaijani states date back to when Azerbaijan first became independent on May 28, 1918.
The Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to the modern Republic of Türkiye, became the first nation to recognize Azerbaijan and the Ottoman Islamic Army rescued Baku from Armenian and Bolshevik guerillas.
Azerbaijan, in return, helped the Turkish War of Independence in 1920 but was blocked by Moscow in the following years from operating freely, and relations with Türkiye were disrupted.
The two countries reunited 70 years later with the collapse of the Soviet Union and Türkiye became the first country to recognize Azerbaijan’s second independence.
Azerbaijan’s then-President Haydar Aliyev’s characterization of “One nation, two states” formed the basis of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations in the past three decades.
Azerbaijan’s current leader, Ilham Aliyev, maintained his predecessor’s political priority of advancing relations with Türkiye and bilateral relations progressed each year with new bilateral agreements and high-level strategic council meetings.
Azerbaijan and Türkiye bolstered their ties through shared energy and transport projects, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil line, Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline and Baku-Tblisi-Kars railway line.
Ankara and Baku aim to deepen their cooperation by implementing the Zangezur Corridor, which would connect the two countries with a highway and railway through Armenia, which borders them both.
In economic cooperation, Azerbaijan made its biggest foreign investments in Türkiye with over $20 billion, while Türkiye supplied Azerbaijan with over $13 billion in capital.
Türkiye has also assisted its ally in developing and training its military and bolstering its defense industry. Countless Azerbaijani officers were raised in Turkish military schools, and Azerbaijani military schools were elevated to NATO-level institutions with Türkiye’s help.
Per a 2013 memorandum of agreement, the Turkish and Azerbaijani militaries have been conducting joint exercises every year.
Türkiye also supplied political and spiritual support for Azerbaijan during the Second Karabakh War in 2020 against Armenia.
