2 yıl önce

Türkiye, Azerbaijan share 'strategic alliance' under Shusha Declaration

Turkish President Erdogan said two countries have taken bilateral ties to a level that is exemplary not only for the region but also for the entire world.

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Ankara strongly supports Azerbaijan's efforts to establish lasting peace with Armenia, says Turkish President Erdogan at Teknofest in Azerbaijani capital Baku.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Türkiye and Azerbaijan share "strategic alliance" that was cemented by last year’s Shusha Declaration in the wake of Azerbaijan’s victory in a regional conflict with Armenia.

"We first elevated our relationship with Azerbaijan to a strategic partnership, and last year to a strategic alliance with the Shusha Declaration," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday at leading Turkish aviation, space, and technology festival Teknofest, now held abroad for the first time, in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

Saying that the two countries have taken bilateral ties to a level that is exemplary not only for the region but also for the entire world, Erdogan said: "We are organising Teknofest, the world's most popular aviation, space and technology festival, in Baku, the pearl of the Caspian, with the slogan of one nation, two states, one festival."

Just like Turkish Anatolia, just like Türkiye itself, Azerbaijan is also our homeland, the Turkish leader added.

"Just as we do not have designs on anyone's lands or sovereignty, we do not and will not have a single inch of land to lose to people with malicious intent," he declared.

He added that Türkiye strongly supports Azerbaijan's efforts to establish lasting peace with neighbouring Armenia.

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At the Baku event, companies and entrepreneurs are set to showcase their products and technical solutions.

Strengthening relations

Raising relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan to the level of an alliance, the declaration was inked in a ceremony attended by the two countries' presidents in the Azerbaijani city of Shusha, liberated in November 2020 from nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation.

It focuses on defence cooperation and establishing new transportation routes, affirming the two armies’ joint efforts in the face of foreign threats, and the restructuring and modernisation of their armed forces.

The declaration decries how Armenia's groundless allegations against Türkiye and attempts to distort history are damaging peace and stability in the region.

It also says the opening of the Zangezur corridor, connecting eastern Türkiye and Azerbaijan, and the Nakhchivan-Kars rail way will further contribute to the strengthening of relations.

Türkiye was a key backer of Azerbaijan during the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which erupted on September 27, 2020 and ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire and sizeable Azerbaijani gains on November 10.