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Baku – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to reverse his country’s support for Azerbaijan during the recent battles in the Nagorno Karabakh region in order to create a new reality in the region that paves the way for the Turkish role in the Caucasus. and Central Asia, on what can be described as the Turkish Silk Road opposite that part of the region. Rich in oil and gas to China, not from China to Europe or Turkey.
On Thursday, during an official visit to the Azerbaijani capital Baku, the Turkish president stressed that the “fight” of his ally Azerbaijan against Armenia had not ended after his victory in the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, and stressed that the freedom of the region “will be the beginning of a new era” in the region.
Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh last month was a major geopolitical coup through which Erdogan established Turkey’s leadership in the Caucasus region.
From the beginning, it was clear that Turkey had gone with all its weight to support Azerbaijan in the battles, especially relying heavily on the Turkish marches, and that the goal was to achieve a military victory that would open the door to Erdogan’s strategy. to attract the Islamic republics, which were under the umbrella of the former Soviet Union, to the umbrella. Turkish, ready to provide protection.
The dream of Turkish expansion into these areas was not new. It is clear that Erdogan seeks to end what former Turkish President Turkut Ozal failed when he sought to fill the void left by the disintegration of the Soviet Union and build an alliance between countries of Turkish origin. However, the 1992 summit hosted by Ankara, and Ozal’s promises during it, did not convince the newly independent Islamic republics to enter a new umbrella that shows from the beginning Turkey’s greed to control oil and gas. and provide expensive protection.
However, Turkey’s relationship with Azerbaijan was in better condition due to the latter’s need for Turkish support in the war aimed at retaking Nagorno-Karabakh. The alliance between Baku and Ankara, described with the slogan “One nation, two states”, began to expand over time.
Political, economic and military cooperation between the two countries enabled Turkey to help Azerbaijan train and equip its army and facilitate fuel exports to Europe to avoid Russia.
Analysts say Turkey is trying to use the common history with these rich countries to open the way for Turkish companies to infiltrate these countries, but the most important thing is to control the channels and lines of gas transportation to Europe, so that Turkey becomes a main link through which Russian gas passes, as well as gas from the Islamic republics. .
This important situation would allow Turkey to have letters of power in its relationship with Russia, especially with Europe, which refused to accept Turkish membership in the European Union, and is on its way, now, to the history of the Ankara wings due to its troublesome movements in the eastern Mediterranean and forced drilling in unaffiliated areas. to her.
It is no secret that Erdogan’s strategy to the east aims to seek alternatives to membership in the European Union, and join the new economic alliance of European and US sanctions, and the Gulf boycott. But it is not clear how much the emerging republics will interact with the Turkish plans and whether they will provide Erdogan with a lifeline through which he can face the results of his conflicts and wars that have notably affected the Turkish economy.
The Turkish media works to nurture the national bond between Turkey and these countries, and to portray Erdogan as a unified national hero for the governments, leaders and peoples of this region, and that he is subject to the signal of any state to intervene. and protect it from any external threat.
This association is being promoted through wide Turkish penetration in these countries, media campaigns, cultural and religious campaigns and help with charity speeches by the “TIKA” or Religion Waqf, which play the spearhead role. in Turkey’s smooth expansion in the region and in other regions, especially Africa.
The official celebration of the “liberation” of the Nagorno Karabakh region has received the attention of the official Turkish media.
“We are here today … to celebrate this glorious victory,” Arduan said, during a military parade that included military vehicles and weapons confiscated from Armenia.
Turkish drones participated in the parade. During the broadcast of the program, Turkish television announced that Turkish drones had “changed” the Karabakh war.
The Turkish president added that “the removal of Azerbaijan from its occupation lands does not mean that the fighting is over … the fighting in the political and military spheres will now continue on many other fronts.”
For his part, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Erdogan’s presence “shows the whole world the uninterrupted friendship between the Azerbaijani and Turkish peoples.”
More than 3,000 soldiers took part in the parade, which was also attended by 2,783 Turkish soldiers, symbolizing the number of Azeri soldiers who died in the clashes. The show was attended by a Turkish commando squad.
“Azerbaijan would not have been able to achieve military success in Karabakh without Turkey’s open political support,” said analyst Ilhan Sahinoglu from the Baku-based “Atlas” research center.
