Baku, Ankara hold political consultations

By Azernews

By Amina Nazarli

Baku hosted another round of political consultations between the Azerbaijani and Turkish Foreign Ministries.

Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Khalaf Khalafov and Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkey Umit Yalc?n represented the consultation, Azertac reported. 

Khalafov and Yalcin highlighted rapidly developing overall relations between the two countries, emphasizing that these ties exist at the level of international organizations that accommodates the interests of both sides.

They also noted that the phrase “one nation, two states” by national leader Heydar Aliyev is a symbol of Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood and friendship that is based upon national, historical, and cultural roots.

The officials also expressed satisfaction with the cooperation in the formats of Azerbaijan-Turkey-Iran, Azerbaijan-Turkey-Georgia, and Azerbaijan-Turkey-Turkmenistan, noting that it would make a significant contribution to the development of regional cooperation.

The deputy FMs stressed the importance of continuing bilateral support and joint multilateral activities between the two countries.

The sides stressed the necessity of intensifying joint efforts towards the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty in line with the norms and principles of international law.

Problems in the Middle East, the fight against international terrorism, resolution of regional conflicts, neighborhood policy were also in the focus of the meeting.

Earlier, the Turkish diplomat was received by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who stressed the importance of multiplying joint efforts in the fight against terrorism.

Yalcin, in turn, expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for the resolute position with regard to the recent events in Turkey.

Turkey became the first state to recognize Azerbaijan, which declared its independence in 1991.

The Azerbaijan-Turkey relations are multifaceted and at strategic level. Intense high level contacts are the main driving main force of the bilateral relations. Visiting each other’s countries immediately after assuming the office or in the wake of developments with symbolic importance became a tradition. 

With the aim of further strengthening bilateral relations, the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSC) mechanism was established in 2010 at the Presidential level. The Council was convened five times so far and the last round was held this March in Ankara. 

Turkey contributes to efforts aimed at the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty through peaceful means.