Tag: Turkey-Azerbaijan

  • Potential of trade relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey ten times higher

    Potential of trade relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey ten times higher

    Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.4 / Trend A.Akhundov/

    Flags Turkey Azerbaijan 140910The potential of trade relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan is 10 times higher compared to the current level of trade, MP, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy Vahid Ahmedov said at a general meeting of the Association of Azerbaijani and Turkish Entrepreneurs (ATIB) on Saturday.

    “Turkey is the closest friend and a partner of Azerbaijan but trade between the two countries is not on the level it might be,” Ahmedov said.

    Ahmedov said, studies show that the potential for trade between the two countries amounts to $20 billion, while today it stands at about $2 billion.

    Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilic stressed a big role of Turkish entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan’s economy and the Azerbaijani entrepreneurs in the economy of Turkey.

    Kilic said, there are great opportunities for the further development of bilateral relations, including economic ones.

    “Turkey and Azerbaijan always support each other. The reaction of Azerbaijan to discuss of “Armenian genocide” at the French Parliament can be a good example of it,” Kilic said.

    via Potential of trade relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey ten times higher – Trend.

  • Azerbaijan supports Turkey in the fight against terrorism

    Azerbaijan supports Turkey in the fight against terrorism

    Izmir. Mais Alizadeh-APA. The first meeting of the Turkey-Azerbaijan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council has taken place in Izmir, Turkey.

    ilham eliyev erdogan

    Speaking at a press conference following the meeting, the Turkish Primer Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for the first assistance after the earthquake in Van.

    “Today we witnessed very important events. It’s about $5 billion investment. From this investment will benefit both Turkey and Azerbaijan”, – Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

    Turkish Primer Minster said that the relations between the two countries entered a new phase and these relations will become even stronger.

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that they want “a speedy and just solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”. “A just solution to the problem” will lead to a great development in the region. This is not only Azerbaijan’s problem but also problem if Turkey and the Turkic world, in general”.

    Turkish Prime Minister noted that the second meeting of the Turkey-Azerbaijan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council will be held in Azerbaijan, next year and expressed hope for a full agenda of this meeting.

    Speaking at a press conference, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed his condolences to the Turkish people, on behalf of the Azerbaijani people, in connection with the terrible earthquake. “Today the Azerbaijani people is close to the Turkish people in such day. 20 years of our independence – years of the Turkey-Azerbaijan brotherhood. Turkey always has been close to Azerbaijan in bad days. Turkey-Azerbaijan unity based on historical grounds, constantly gaining strength. Today Turkey and Azerbaijan are close in all matters, support each other, implement joint projects and take initiatives”, – Azerbaijani President said.

    ”The agreements reached at the meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, and signed documents are recommendations for the future. From now, our cooperation in all fields will be deepened. Azerbaijan has always been close with Turkey in dealing with terrorism, one of the main problems of this country. Azerbaijan fully supports Turkey in its just struggle against terrorism”, – President Ilham Aliyev said.

    via APA – Azerbaijani President: Azerbaijan supports Turkey in the fight against terrorism.

  • 1news.az launches new project in Turkish

    1news.az launches new project in Turkish

    Mon 06 September 2010 | 13:04 GMT

    1news.az information agency has launched a new project – http://www.1news.com.tr/.

    1news.az continues providing new services to readers and it is now possible to get news in Turkish.

    All urgent news from Azerbaijan and the region, interviews, comments, photos and videos will become available for Turkish-speaking readers.

    The project which was launched on September 6 will become a new step in strengthening friendly relations between fraternal Azerbaijan and Turkey.

    “’We believe this step will not only fill the information vacuum in the Turkish language that was formed in Azerbaijan, but also help prevent distribution of false information by the Armenian media, because, as we know, many Armenian online resources have been functioning in Turkish for a few months”, said 1news.az editor-in-chief Rahman Hajiyev.

    According to Hajiyev, www.1news.com.tr will cover processes in the socio-political life of Azerbaijan, economic, sports news, the official chronicle, as well as regional news.

    “I would like to note that the project will involve a truly international team, because its members are not only Azerbaijanis, but also the Turkish experts “, said the chief editor.

    According to Hajiyev, a special place on www.1news.com.tr will be given to analysis and interviews with leading political figures and experts from Azerbaijan.

    “This area is critical because it allows the Turkish audience to have a clear idea of the sentiments and opinions of the Azerbaijani society and the expert community”, said Hajiyev.

    Compositions from Mugam Radio and Media FM are available online on the webpage.

    News.Az

  • Excluding Azerbaijan Can’t Bring Stability To The South Caucasus

    Excluding Azerbaijan Can’t Bring Stability To The South Caucasus

    70A62DFA B2A6 4130 A4EE DAB64EBAD71B mw270 s

    Azerbaijani football fans at the Turkey-Armenia World Cup qualifying match in Bursa in October 2009
    April 21, 2010
    By Novruz Mammadov
    The United States has recently stepped up efforts to repair relations between Turkey and Armenia. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in response to the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding Azerbaijani territories by Armenian forces. Lately, U.S. officials have been urging Turkey to ignore Armenia’s continuing occupation and reopen the border. While Washington says that its aim is to improve stability and development throughout the region, in reality U.S. policies have become increasingly pro-Armenian — and exclusive of Azerbaijan.

    Washington believes that a Turkish-Armenian rapprochement could kill two birds with one stone. First, it might smooth over — at least temporarily — one of the major trouble spots in U.S.-Turkish relations: the issue of Armenian genocide claims. Second, some U.S. officials argue that improving ties between Armenia and Turkey will ultimately contribute to a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They appear to believe improved relations will lead to a moderation of Armenian policies and open the way to new initiatives on Karabakh.

    However, we must disagree. Armenia continues to occupy almost 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory. It is ironic that while claiming to be the first victim of genocide in the 20th century, Armenia itself carried out one of the century’s major ethnic-cleansing campaigns in Europe — a campaign that resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of nearly 1 million Azerbaijanis. Many members of the Armenian political elite — including President Serge Sarkisian — rose through the ranks because of their personal involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. They have used the war as a pretext for strengthening their own hold over Armenian politics, so it is not surprising that they have not been constructive in settlement talks.

    Pretext For Occupation

    Azerbaijan has proposed granting the highest form of autonomy to Nagorno-Karabakh and is prepared to invest heavily in the region’s development once a peace deal is reached. Baku has been cooperating closely with the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to resolve the conflict peacefully.

    However, Armenia remains intransient, and this creates the suspicion that Yerevan wants to keep the conflict unresolved as an excuse for indefinite occupation.

    In this context, Armenia’s closed borders are the main form of leverage that might compel Yerevan to engage seriously in the resolution of the conflict. There is no reason to believe that opening the borders will make Armenia more willing to compromise; on the contrary, removing this sole punishment will only increase Armenia’s interest in further entrenching the status quo.

    We understand that Armenia has a powerful diaspora and that justice does not necessarily always prevail. Over the last 15 years, despite maintaining the occupation of part of a neighboring country, Armenia has received preferential treatment from the West, which has actually punished Azerbaijan. The infamous Section 907 of the U.S. Freedom Support Act, which banned direct U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, is a clear example of this. Western governments and media have largely been silent on the plight of the nearly 1 million Azerbaijanis who were displaced by Armenian aggression. This has naturally led the Azerbaijani public to think that the West’s talk of democracy and human rights is nothing more than a selectively applied method of promoting its own interests.

    In Defense Of Justice

    It is high time for the United States and Europe to adopt a fair position and to prevent the narrow interests of their Armenian lobbies from prevailing over justice and their own national interests.

    In any event, attempts to pressure Ankara to abandon Azerbaijan are shortsighted and likely to backfire. Azerbaijan and Turkey are strategic allies with deep historical ties. Turkey has played an important role in Azerbaijan’s partnership with the West on key security and energy projects. Azerbaijan spearheaded the opening of Caspian energy resources to the West and insisted that major oil and gas pipelines be routed through Georgia and Turkey.

    Baku has also wholeheartedly supported U.S. security initiatives by sending troops to Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Azerbaijan also provides supply-transit support for the NATO effort in Afghanistan. Those who know the region understand the significant risks Azerbaijan took and the pressure it overcame in order to pursue close cooperation with the West on energy and security issues.

    Long-term peace and normalization of relations in the South Caucasus cannot be achieved by rewarding aggression and by excluding the region’s strategically most important country. By pushing Turkey to abandon Azerbaijan, the United States risks alienating one of its most important and reliable partners in a critical region of the world.

    Novruz Mammadov is head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan. The views expressed in this commentary are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL

    https://www.rferl.org/a/Excluding_Azerbaijan_Cannot_Bring_Stability_To_The_South_Caucasus/2020228.html

  • Turkish Foreign Minister in Azerbaijan

    Turkish Foreign Minister in Azerbaijan

    [ 22 Oct 2009 20:02 ]
    Baku. Lachin Sultanova, Elbrus Seyfullayev-APA. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov visited Heydar Aliyev’s grave in the Alley of Honors, Martyrs’ Alley and Turkish memorial to Turkish soldiers.

    APA reports that both ministers came to the alley in the cars carrying Azerbaijani and Turkish flags.

    The foreign ministers issued a joint statement in the memorial to Turkish soldiers. Ahmet Davutoglu said he was pleased to visit Azerbaijan. Turkish Minister noted that he met with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister and President Ilham Aliyev, they discussed Azerbaijan-Turkey relations, the problems of the two countries.
    “We came to the conclusion that Turkish and Azerbaijani territories, flags are the same for us. We consider Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity our territorial integrity, Azerbaijan’s flag our flag. Our flags are alike, the crescent moon and star on them are the same. Turkey is concerned over the recent happenings as much as Azerbaijan is. The memorial to Turkish soldiers has been entrusted to our Azerbaijani brothers. Turkey and Azerbaijan will remain brothers forever. Both flags are Turkish flags. We will not allow anyone to insult these flags. Turkey will continue to defend Azerbaijan. Our common Turkish language, common flag is eternal,” he said.

    Elmar Mammadyarov said he had one-on-one meeting with Ahmet Davutoglu, later they met with President Ilham Aliyev.
    “The principle ‘one nation, two states’ is effective. We discussed the unpleasant incidents concerning the flags. Our views coincided. Ahmet Davutoglu said the incident in connection with Azerbaijani flag will be investigated in Bursa, criminal case will be launched. The wrongdoers will be punished. Azerbaijan-Turkey friendship, love, brotherhood will not be affected,” he said.

    Both ministers answered the question of APA’s correspondent “Will Azerbaijani and Turkish flags be hung out in the memorial to Turkish soldiers again?”

    Ahmet Davutoglu said the incidents concerning the flags should not affect the relations between the two brotherly countries.
    “An incident happened in Bursa. Investigation is being carried out. Some videos broadcasted in media are provocations, they aim to stir up discord. We will not allow anybody to insult Azerbaijan’s flag in Turkey. Despite this, we are investigating this provocation and will take measures. The Turkish flag in the memorial is not the flag of others, this is the flag of our common Turkish language. The flags of Azerbaijan and Turkey were hung out here together. We hope these flags will soon be hung out in the memorial again,” he said.

    Elmar Mammadyarov said all saw the attitude towards Azerbaijan’s flag in Bursa stadium.
    “It has been decided to punish those persons. We will also take necessary measures,” he said.