BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 15
Trend:
We remain committed to this testament, demonstrate our commitment to our ancestors and guide future generations by signing the Declaration on allied relations in the city of Shusha, which was liberated in the 21st century, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in a press statements following the ceremony of signing Shusha Declaration, Trend reports.
“The Declaration signed today is based on history. The Declaration reflects the words of the great leaders of our peoples – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Heydar Aliyev. At the beginning of the 20th century, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk said, “Azerbaijan's joy is our joy and its sorrow is ours too.” At the end of the 20th century, Heydar Aliyev said, “Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation in two states.” These historic words are the key factor for us, for our activities. We remain committed to this testament, demonstrate our commitment to our ancestors and guide future generations by signing the Declaration on allied relations in the city of Shusha, which was liberated in the 21st century.
The Joint Declaration refers to the historic Kars Agreement. The historic Kars agreement was signed exactly 100 years ago. This also has a great symbolic meaning. The Joint Declaration on allied relations signed in the liberated city of Shusha after 100 years shows the direction of our future cooperation.
The Declaration covers many important issues. At the international level, it dwells upon our cooperation, joint activities, political relations, economic and trade relations, culture, education, sports, youth policy and practically all other areas. It demonstrates the importance of energy security and the Southern Gas Corridor for Turkey, Azerbaijan and Europe. Every issue reflected in it is of great importance. I would like to highlight two issues among them. First, the issue of cooperation in the field of defense. The issues of defense industry and mutual military assistance are reflected in this Declaration. This is a historic achievement. We are showing again that we will always be together. We will continue to ensure each other's security, just as Turkey and Azerbaijan have been together on all issues so far. This will continue to be the case.
The second important issue is transport. The declaration contains very clear statements about the opening of the Zangazur corridor. This is the result of a new geopolitical situation that has emerged as a result of the second Karabakh war. Today, we are not only talking about the Zangazur corridor, which will connect Turkey and Azerbaijan by rail and road, we are creating this corridor through tangible work. It is important that this issue is reflected in the Joint Declaration on allied relations,” the head of state said.