Turkey officially challenges Azerbaijan monopoly on victory in 44-day Karabakh war
The analysis reflects on the military support provided by Turkey to Azerbaijan during the aforesaid war in 2020, Turkish president Erdogan’s latest statements, and the reactions they caused in Azerbaijan.
The article highlights certain complexities inherent in the “one nation, two states” concept and their impact on regional allied relations.
During the 44-day Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] war in 2020, Turkish military support played a decisive role in Azerbaijan’s victory. Although it was reported that no Turkish soldier directly participated in combat operations, and that Turkey only provided Azerbaijan with modern weaponry—particularly Bayraktar TB2 drones—and conducted military training, evidence emerged suggesting that Turkish military personnel were also involved in the fighting. The internationally renowned newspaper The Guardian even reported that mercenaries were being recruited by Turkish intelligence services to assist Azerbaijan. However, these claims were denied by both Turkish and Azerbaijani authorities.
Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a speech in Rize, stated that Turkey would enter Israel to support Palestine as it had entered Karabakh and Libya. Erdogan made this statement in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (the large-scale military operations between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel), which sparked a wave of anger in Azerbaijan. This was because the statement challenged Azerbaijan’s “exclusive rights” to victory in the Karabakh war.
The statement was followed by a response from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense, emphasizing that the victory in the Karabakh war was achieved solely through the efforts of Azerbaijani soldiers. It was highlighted that Azerbaijan’s president had repeatedly expressed gratitude to Turkey for its military and political support. However, the ministry underlined that no soldiers from any other country participated in the war.
Two days after Erdogan’s statement, Azerbaijan’s official newspaper Azerbaijan also responded to Ankara. In an article titled The authors of the Karabakh victory are the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and the Azerbaijani army the paper addressed Erdogan’s remarks, stating that they “pour water on the Armenian mill” and asserting that “brother should not boast to his brother about what he has done for him,” as well as “the left hand should not know what the right hand is doing.” The author also noted that “the price of every bullet used had been paid.”
The article reminded Turkey of the steps Azerbaijan had taken in its favor, such as Azerbaijan’s support for Turkey on various diplomatic platforms, Ilham Aliyev’s efforts to promote cooperation among Turkic states, the involvement of Turkish construction companies in the occupied Artsakh. It then emphasized that “brotherhood requires mutual obligations.”
Initially, the Turkish side attempted to ignore Azerbaijan’s dissatisfaction. However, shortly after this publication, during the graduation ceremony of the Turkish Air Force Academy, Erdogan once again spoke about the Nagorno-Karabakh war. He stated, “in Karabakh, together with our Azerbaijani brothers, we completely destroyed the enemy’s forces,” once again emphasizing Turkey’s significant role in that victory.
Thus, Erdogan’s statement revealed the underlying tensions in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations regarding Azerbaijan’s victory in the 44-day Karabakh war, highlighting certain complexities inherent in the “one nation, two states” concept.
