ISTANBUL (Combined Sources)—Turkey and Azerbaijan signed Wednesday a framework agreement on the establishment of a high-level strategic cooperation council, a goal Turkey is aiming to pursue with all its neighbors, reported the Hurriyet newspaper.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev participated in the signing ceremony following the latter’s meeting with Turkish President Abdullah Gul. Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov.
Diplomatic sources said the strategic cooperation council would cover areas such as economy, trade, politics, transportation, culture, science and civil society. The preparatory meeting of the council will take place first, to be followed by a joint Cabinet meeting of the two countries’ ministers by the end of this year, sources said.
The plans to set up a cooperation council between the two countries were first announced in May, when Erdogan met Aliyev in Baku. The Turkish prime minister hailed the development as a “progressive step.”
The council will be similar to the one Turkey has established with Iraq, Syria, Greece and Russia as part of the government-led policy of “zero problems and maximum cooperation with neighbors.”
The agreement signed will ensure the future development of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said during a speech after the signing of the agreement, TRT1 television reported.
“The fraternal and friendly relations have existed between our peoples for centuries. These relations are developing day by day and have reached to a new level. We are building our relationship upon this strong basis. After Azerbaijan regained its independence, the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations only strengthened and developed, and today they have reached the level of allies. We remember that Turkey was the first country recognizing our independence and Turkey has always been with us since the first day of our independence. Today we successfully cooperate in various spheres,” said Aliyev.
President Aliyev said the agreement on the establishment of the Supreme Council for Strategic Cooperation will strengthen and deepen cooperation between the two countries. “Our relations are built upon this strong basis and I am sure that future generations will carry forward this friendship and brotherhood. Today’s event assumes special importance. The agreement signed today is indeed a result of previous work and determines the strategic cooperation between countries,” said Aliyev.
The President said the agreement covers all spheres. “This agreement creates an opportunity to expand relations between our peoples. On this historic day, I firstly want to express gratitude to my friend, Prime Minister Erdogan. This document was created as a result of his initiatives and efforts. I also thank all those who participated in creating the document. This is not only an international document, but also the result of good intentions between our nations,” said Aliyev.
Aliyev noted that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has always been the main topic of discussions between Ankara and Baku.
“And today, an extensive exchange of views was conducted on this topic. Turkey has always supported the fair position of Azerbaijan, has made efforts in various forms for the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. The talks must yield a result and the result is that the internationally recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored. Nagorno-Karabakh is a historical land of Azerbaijan. Our people have lived and created there. Today, Azerbaijanis have been expelled from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories. No Azerbaijani has left in these areas. All of them have incurred ethnic cleansing. All our historical and religious monuments have been destroyed. This is a great injustice and a step violating international legal norms. Of course, this issue will always be on the agenda in the relations of Azerbaijan and Turkey,” said Aliyev.
The last quoted paragraph is pretty much all of the things that were ATTEMPTED against the ethnic native Armenian peoples of Arstakh (FORMERLY known as Nagorno Karabagh) by the Azeris in the 1990s but were THWARTED by the native Armenians via a war of independence.
Aliyev The Clown is spewing more garbage and lies as usual. The Azeri people did not exist prior to the beginning of the 20th century. Their entire existence was nothing but a cultural personification by the Soviets. Before the Russians GAVE them land to live on at the expense of true native Armenians (lands such as our beloved Arstakh), these Azeris were herding goats on the planes of Turkey prior to being “gifted” the lands they presently live on by the Soviet Bolsheviks.
They know this, we know this, the world knows this. We should have gone all the way to Baku in 1993, these clowns would not be talking so big now had we made Baku’s ports our playgrounds the way the Israelis grabbed the Golan Heights and made their neighbors beg to get it back. Next round, we will not make another mistake, Armenians will be dancing on Baku’s streets.
And yet Aliyev forgets that his army destroyed Armenian monuments and cemeteries in Nakhichevan!!!!!!!!
MEG ESH-E MOUYS ESH-IN INCH ESAV?,thats what i thought when i saw the picture of Aliyev and Erdogan.
Looks like the guy on the right side of the picture with his legs opened so wide is waiting on a move from the guy on the left , but again this could be the mongolian way of greeting ,although one should not but notice that none of them looks mangolian ,so what is it?.
Good observation!
is that how your embessil brain thinks when you look around?:)