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“A people in two countries” is a slogan that Turkey raises with all its partisan, intellectual and popular components to express the strong relationship that unites it with the state of Azerbaijan, which materialized after the outbreak of violent military confrontations today in the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region between Azerbaijan and Armenia, where deaths and injuries occurred on both sides.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the Armenian side, saying that Armenia is the biggest threat to peace and stability in the region.
In the same context, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that Armenia’s “aggressive” position represents the greatest obstacle to peace and stability in the Caucasus region, adding that Turkey condemns the Armenian attack and will support the Azeris in defense of their territorial integrity.
The hashtag (Azerbaijani) topped the Turkish trend on Twitter on Sunday, after hundreds of thousands of Turks on social media voiced their support for Azerbaijan.
Earlier, 4 large parliamentary blocs in the Turkish Parliament, namely the “Justice and Development”, “Republican People”, “Nationalist Movement” and “Good” parties, issued a joint statement condemning “the continued aggression of Armenia on the lands of Azerbaijan “.
Armored personnel carriers belonging to the Azerbaijani army during previous military exercises (Reuters)Intimate friendships
There is a high-level strategic cooperation council between Turkey and Azerbaijan that reflects the depth and size of relations at all levels, including military and economic.
Ankara generally receives continuously wounded Azeris who were injured in clashes with Armenian forces. The Turkish official media use the expression “martyr” when referring to Azerbaijani forces killed by Armenian bullets.
And Azerbaijan has a Muslim majority, with a strong Turkish presence, while Armenia is a Christian-majority country, inhabited mainly by Armenians.
Azerbaijan supplies Turkey with oil and increasing amounts of gas from the “Shah Deniz” field in the Caspian Sea. He is a huge investor in modern Turkey. There are also giant Turkish projects in Azerbaijan that are vulnerable to attack, including the “Baku-Tbilisi-Kars” railway line and the power transmission line. Baku-Ceyhan.
Turkish F-16 aircraft during maneuvers in Azerbaijan (Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan)Turkish consensus
Meanwhile, Turkish journalist Ismail Kaya confirms to Al-Jazeera Net that the Azerbaijan issue enjoys unprecedented unanimity in its border dispute with Armenia by all Turkish parties in all their political and intellectual orientations, given the national ties. , ethnic and historical between the two countries.
Kaya sees the party’s consensus as a natural reflection of the state of popular consensus in his country on the need to back Azerbaijan, even if this involves entering into a direct military confrontation and possibly a full-scale war with Armenia, despite the risks of colliding with Russia, which is Armenia’s biggest supporter.
The Turkish journalist says: “It is a scene that reflects the state of internal consensus, in contrast to the existing divisions on the priority of Turkish military intervention in Syria, Libya and other areas.”
He added: “It is not known whether the large Turkish forces and military equipment that participated in the military exercises between the Turkish and Azerbaijani armed forces a month ago returned to Turkey, or whether the purpose of the exercises was to keep the forces there to prepare for any future confrontation. “
In addition to the well-established historical, national and ethnic ties between the two countries, Turkey and Azerbaijan have important strategic interests related to gas transmission lines, Azerbaijan’s position in the energy market and the risks of any confrontation over the energy market. Turkey’s energy supply from Azerbaijan, and the latter’s urgent need for Turkey as an important corridor to the outside world, in addition to The interests associated with Azerbaijan are an important conduit for Turkey due to its former influence in the Caucasus and Asia Central, Kaya said.
He adds clarifying: “To avoid a larger and more dangerous confrontation with the major powers in the region, Turkey is pressing through diplomatic means and pressuring Russia and Iran to stop the Armenian attacks, and pressing Armenia by emphasizing the support of Azerbaijan with weapons and military maneuvers to form a deterrent force to avoid falling into a broader military confrontation. If that fails, direct military intervention will be an inevitable option for the Turkish army.
An ancient struggle
Azerbaijan accuses its neighbor Armenia of occupying about 20% of Azerbaijani land since 1992, which includes the “Karabakh” region, which consists of 5 provinces, and 5 other provinces in the west of the country, in addition to much of the provinces of “Aghdam” and “Fuzuli”.
The Nagorno Karabakh region, a mountainous enclave within Azerbaijan, is under the administration of people of Armenian descent, who declared their independence during a conflict that began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Despite a 1994 ceasefire agreement, Azerbaijan and Armenia still exchange accusations of having launched attacks around the separatist region and on the border between them.
The dispute between Azerbaijan and its successors Turkey, Armenia and the Western countries behind it dates back more than 100 years, that is, to the events of 1915, when Armenian nationalists cooperated with Russian forces to establish an independent Armenian state in the Anatolia region, and fought against the Ottoman Empire during World War I in 2003. 1914.
When the Russian army occupied eastern Anatolia, it received great support from the Armenian volunteers, and some Armenians who were serving in the ranks of the Ottoman forces deserted and joined the Russian army, according to the Turkish version.
According to the Anadolu Agency, with the continuation of the Armenian attacks, the government decided on April 24, 1915 to close the so-called Armenian Revolutionary Committees, and arrest and exile some prominent Armenian figures, and since that date, the Armenian side has accused Turks from committing genocide against Armenians during that period.
On the other hand, Turkey has repeatedly requested the formation of a committee of Turkish and Armenian historians, to study the archives related to the events of 1915, which are located in Turkey, Armenia and other countries related to the events, in order to present its results impartially to world public opinion, or any reference recognized by both parties. However, the proposal was rejected by Armenia.
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