The tension between Azerbaijan and Turkey in recent months has been replaced with a warm atmosphere, with a speech by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Azerbaijani Parliament exerting a particularly profound effect on ending the crisis between the two countries, Rabiyyat Aslanova, a deputy from the Azerbaijani Parliament, has said.
Stressing the historically friendly ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan, Aslanova said, “No force can harm the well-established relations between the two countries.” Turkey’s relations with Azerbaijan were in trouble due to speculation that Turkey would be opening its border with Armenia. As a reaction to Turkey, Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, cancelled plans to attend an Alliance of Civilizations meeting in Istanbul. Although Aliyev said he could not participate because of his busy schedule, a few days later he met with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev in Russia. Aslanova, who is also chairman of Parliament’s Human Rights Commission, expressed displeasure with the current developments. Noting that inciting tension was the plan of those who wanted to ruin relations between the countries, Aslanova stressed that Erdogan’s speech at the Azerbaijani Parliament had put an end to that plan.
Emphasizing the historical ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan, the Azeri deputy said the friction was caused by Turkey’s lateness in offering an official statement. “Let’s not call it tension, but rather being offended,” he said and added: “We never thought Turkey would open its border gates to Armenia. We were just expecting a statement from an official. When this was delayed, it inevitably led to doubt. But our hopes turned out to be right after an official statement was made a few days later.”
Highlighting the importance of Prime Minister Erdogan’s speech on ending the tension, Aslanova said it was an appropriate decision to deliver the speech in Azerbaijan because it had a profound effect on reinforcing faith in the prime minister. Referring to Erdogan’s remark on “having walked down this road together,” Aslanova said: “We are walking together, and we will continue to walk together. There’s no stopping. We must move forward.”
The deputy insisted that Aliyev’s meeting with the Russian leader should not be seen as a reaction to Turkey and said: “Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation with two states. There may be people in world politics who don’t want relations between the two to develop. But for the sake of the future, we must develop our strategies together and implement them together. Both countries will remain faithful to the principle of brotherhood. These relations are integral for a grand union of Turks.”
Underlining that the tension between Azerbaijan and Armenia arises from Armenia’s occupation of the mountainous Karabakh region, Aslanova said, “Serious negotiations will not be held until Armenia withdraws from this region,” and added: “Azerbaijan is determined about this mission.
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