BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 24
Trend:
Azerbaijan-Turkey-Russia trilateral format of cooperation is already being formed de facto, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during the meeting with the leaders of Russia’s top mass media at the TASS headquarters, Trend reports.
"Last year, on 15 June, President Erdogan and I signed a declaration in the city of Shusha liberated from occupation – the Declaration on Allied Relations. This was also a formalization of what we had, because allied relations between Azerbaijan and Turkiye have existed for years. Turkiye was the first country to recognize Azerbaijan as an independent state. And from the very first steps as an independent state, we felt moral support from Turkiye. In recent years, during the presidency of President Erdogan and mine – these periods coincide to a large extent – we have significantly increased the efficiency of our cooperation. I will give an example: Azerbaijan has invested $19 billion in the Turkish economy and Turkiye has invested $13 billion in Azerbaijan. There are many very infrastructure projects that are being implemented by Turkish companies as contractors. Naturally, there is cultural affinity, linguistic affinity, ethnic affinity. This is very important. This is the foundation that has allowed us the opportunity to raise these relations to an unprecedented level – although we do know that ethnic proximity, including linguistic, is not always a guarantee of close relations, unfortunately. In our case, however, this was possible thanks to the right policy, I think, thanks to the equal relations that have been and are being maintained for many years. Of course, Turkiye was the country that from the very first days of the second Karabakh war provided Azerbaijan with political and moral support. Also, with this political and moral support, Turkiye unequivocally restrained some circles in some countries from unfriendly actions towards Azerbaijan. We appreciate that very much. From the very first day, from the first hours of the second Karabakh war, President Erdogan made a statement and then repeatedly made statements in support of Azerbaijan. It is not surprising that Turkish companies now play the most important role in the restoration of Karabakh and eastern Zangezur. They are helping us a lot," Azerbaijani president said.
"I must also say that we are carrying out all the restoration work exclusively at our own expense. We have not taken a single manat, ruble or dollar from anyone, either as a loan or as some kind of gratuitous assistance. We are doing everything at our own expense, but we use Turkish companies very extensively as contractors. By the way, I must say that 14 Russian companies have also asked us for an opportunity to work in the liberated territories. I think that what was signed yesterday, if you look from our point of view, is in essence a historic achievement, because Azerbaijan has allied relations with two great countries, two neighbors. I don't think any other country can boast of this. Not to mention the fact that one of them is a NATO member and the other a de facto leader of the CSTO. This is actually an achievement and it is probably no secret to anyone that a trilateral format of cooperation is already being formed de facto. It has not been formalized yet, there have not been meetings of foreign ministers, let alone presidents yet, but it is already being formed. It is being formed on the basis of common interests, pragmatism and similarity. It is not a secret for anyone which similarities of management systems, similarities of values we are committed to. For example, we are very pleased that there are very trusting relations between Presidents Erdogan and Putin. Both of them talk about it publicly. So I think the day is probably not far off when we will formalize these relations. Moreover, since Azerbaijan is an ally of Russia and Turkiye, the next step seems to suggest itself. This is not our business, but we, for our part, have always worked to bring the interests of the two countries closer together," the head of state said.