Erdogan Wants Azerbaijan’s ‘Historic Achievements’ to be Underscored in Peace Treaty with Armenia
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey wants what he called Azerbaijan’s “historic achievements” to be underscored in the eventual peace treaty to be signed with Armenia.
“We hope and want that Azerbaijan’s historic achievements, which were realized by the lives of martyrs, to be underscored around the negotiations table through the signing of the peace treaty,” Erdogan told the 11th summit of the Organization of Turkic States when speaking about the 2020 Artsakh War.
Erdogan also met with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on the margins of the summit, which kicked off in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday and “expressed confidence that relations between their countries would continue to advance in various areas and exchanged views on bilateral ties and mutual interests,” according to an official press statement about the meeting.
The two also emphasized the importance of the upcoming United Nations Climate Summit, known as COP29, which will kick off in Baku on Monday, despite wide-spread international concern about Azerbaijan’s abhorrent record on environment and human rights.
Erdogan and members of his government have advanced support for an eventual peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, advocating preconditions that favor Baku, including calling for the creation of the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” a route through Armenia connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan.
Erdogan has also tied the signing of peace treaty favorable to Baku’s interests with the normalization process with Armenia, which is being discussed “without preconditions.”
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan echoed those sentiments when speaking to the Turkiye newspaper, saying Ankara considers peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia as an important element of ensuring stability in the South Caucasus.
“We [Turkey] provide maximum support for reaching agreements, and are happy to see that the [Armenian and Azerbaijani] parties are approaching them. The latest decisions on border delimitation [between Armenia and Azerbaijan] are a good example of this progress,” Fidan told the newspaper.
