"I would like to mention this once again: we will continue to extend our support for Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict so that it finds its solution in the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” Erdoğan said in a joint press conference held with his Azerbaijani counterpart in Ankara on Thursday.

Underlining the failure of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group established in the early 1990s to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict which erupted into a bloody war between Armenia and Azerbaijan and has left 30,000 killed, Erdoğan said, "Turkey is extremely sensitive towards this issue and as Turkey, our position is explicit. It is not possible at all that we will step back from this point [backing Azerbaijan].”

Erdoğan has repeatedly stated that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is also Turkey's problem, reiterating Ankara's commitment to settling the problem that has been stuck in a deadlock already more than two decades.

He also noted the importance of a strategic partnership between Turkey and Azerbaijan in the spheres of both defense and energy. Saying that his meeting with Aliyev was "comprehensive and a sincere exchange of views,” Erdoğan said that both leaders discussed a number of issues, ranging from bilateral relations to regional and international developments.

Implying that their bilateral relations rest on historical ties and cultural and ethnic kinship, Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev said that the power of Turkey in the region is important for Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan will be strong as long as Turkey is powerful,” Aliyev said, extending his gratitude to Ankara's continuing support for "justice and international law,” hinting to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia.

In return, Erdoğan invited Aliyev to an event marking the anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey's Çanakkale province on April 24 -- a date coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the events in 1915 described by Armenians as a genocide.

The joint press conference came after a head-to-head meeting between the two leaders, in which the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the 100th anniversary of the events in 1915 and also energy policies in the region were discussed.

The leaders joined the fourth meeting of the Turkey-Azerbaijan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council (YDSK), which aims to boost bilateral relations between the neighboring countries.

In the morning, Aliyev was greeted in an official ceremony involving 16 troops dressed in the traditional military clothing of the 16 Turkic states. The troops were first present at the welcoming ceremony of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas on Monday.

Aliyev's visit was reportedly scheduled when Erdoğan paid an official visit to Azerbaijan, in his second visit abroad as president. Erdoğan's first visit as president was to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC). It has been tradition for Turkish presidents to pay their first official visits to the KKTC, and then to Azerbaijan, to show their solidarity and continuing support to the Turkic Republics.

 

(Today's Zaman)