Month: February 2021

Azerbaijan's National Assembly approved agreements Monday allowing passport-free travel between Azerbaijan and Turkey and the establishment of a joint media platform between the two countries.

At the first meeting of the spring session of the Azerbaijani Parliament, lawmakers discussed a memorandum of understanding that would cover their cooperation in media and travel requirements between the two countries.

A protocol on amendments to an agreement signed in Baku on Feb. 25, 2020, on mutual visa exemption between Azerbaijan and Turkey was reviewed and the document was adopted into parliament.

However, the amendment noted that those entering Azerbaijan and Turkey from third countries will still be required to show their passports on entry.

The parliamentarians also voted on and adopted a document expanding relations in the field of media, noting the agreement will make a great contribution to ties between the two countries in the field.

In her speech at the General Assembly, Ganira Pashayeva, chairperson of the Cultural Commission of the Azerbaijani Parliament, thanked the Turkish media organizations that actively conveyed the facts to the world during Azerbaijan's 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

She also pointed out that the agreement on a joint media platform is in line with late President Heydar Aliyev's principle of "one nation, two states."

Both agreements were signed during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Baku on Dec. 10, 2020.

Ankara has pledged its full support to Baku in its efforts to liberate its lands from Armenian occupation.

About 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades. In the most recent conflict that began on Sept. 27, Azerbaijan took back much of the land in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave that it lost in a 1991-1994 war that killed an estimated 30,000 people and forced many more from their homes. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the Armenian occupation.

Following the Nov. 10 signing of a Russia-brokered agreement to end the fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution, Turkey agreed with Russia that its troops would also monitor the cease-fire. Ankara and Moscow recently opened a joint observation center in Nagorno-Karabakh to monitor the cease-fire.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday received a Turkish delegation led by the deputy chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the capital Baku to evaluate the party's project to build a school in a territory recently liberated from the Armenian occupation.

The delegation led by Mevlüt Karakaya also included Yusuf Ziya Günaydın, chief advisor to MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, and Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, the chair of Gray Wolves, a pan-Turkish organization that was established by MHP founder Alparslan Türkeş in late 1960s.

According to the statement released by Azerbaijan's Presidency, Karakaya congratulated Aliyev for the victory in the recent Karabakh War, in which Azerbaijan liberated several towns and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the occupation.

About 20% of Azerbaijan's territory had been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades. In the most recent conflict that began on Sept. 27, Azerbaijan took back much of the land in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave that it lost in a 1991-1994 war that killed an estimated 30,000 people and forced many more from their homes.

Karakaya also informed Aliyev about their initiative to build a culture and arts school in the recently liberated town of Shusha and briefed him about their recent contacts with Azerbaijani authorities.

Bahçeli had announced the intent to build the school on Jan. 16 with a post on social media saying that the party would like to establish a school with nine classrooms if President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan allows.

The Azerbaijani armed forces liberated Shusha in November after 28 years of the Armenian occupation. Shusha, known as the pearl of Nagorno-Karabakh, was occupied by Armenia on May 8, 1992. The town has a significant military value since it is located on strategic heights about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the region’s capital over Khankendi (Stepanakert) and on the road linking the city with Armenian territory. Besides its strategic significance, the town is known as a symbol of Azerbaijani history and culture with many historic sites, the restoration of which has started. Many prominent Azerbaijani musicians and scholars were born in the city.

Aliyev thanked the delegation and conveyed his greetings to Bahçeli. Reminding that Turkey and Erdoğan have always provided great support to Azerbaijan in their fight to rescue Azerbaijani territories from the occupation, Aliyev said that Bahçeli's remarks on the issue also have political and moral importance.

Thanking for the school initiative, Aliyev said that it will be taken under consideration in line with the reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories.

He also added that he will give necessary instructions to find a proper location for the building of the school.

The stone house where Mimar Sinan, the greatest architect of the classical period of Ottoman architecture, was born and spent his youth welcomes thousands of visitors every year. The house is located in the Ağırnas quarter of Turkey's central Kayseri province.

While serving as a mesmerizing museum, the building attracts tourists with its unique architectural structure in its historical quarter, which went under extensive restoration last year. The visitors are especially interested in the arches on the ground floor of the house, its underground rooms, storehouses, galleries and lighting system in the kitchen area.

The museum house’s guide Ahmet Bekdaş said that Mimar Sinan lived in Ağırnas until the age of 22 and then moved to Istanbul as a "devshirme," a system that trained non-Muslim citizens of the empire to be officers of the state. Some sources claim that Sinan was of Armenian descent, while others say he descended from Karamanid Turks, who lived in the region spanning from modern Turkey's Konya to Kayseri, including Cappadocia, and adopted Orthodox Christianity.

Recalling that a project to turn the great architect’s house into a museum was prepared in 2000, Bekdaş said that the house was restored by various institutions and organizations four years later in 2004. Noting that the house serves as Mimar Sinan House Museum and hosts millions of tourists every year, the guide continued: “Stonework is prevalent here due to volcanic activity. Mimar Sinan's house was also made of stone. There is an arched area inside the house. It is a gallery with a capacity of 100-150 people. One room of the house has a stove and its chimney. People both warmed up and cooked with this stove in the past. This chimney also provided a ventilation function. In addition, there are warehouses in a part of the house. Since stone insulates it well, the house is cool in summer and hot in winter. Mimar Sinan was influenced by the architecture of this house. This house where he was raised inspired him much to break new ground in architecture.”

Bekdaş stated that there is an underground city located in the same neighborhood as Mimar Sinan’s house. Informing that a part of this city also passes from under the architect’s house, he implied that excavation work under the house continues at intervals. Bekdaş emphasized that the number of visitors decreased during the pandemic but those who visited were left amazed.

Born in 1490, Mimar Sinan was brought to Istanbul as a devshirme in the time of Sultan Selim I, also known as Selim the Grim (1512-1520). He served as the chief Ottoman architect during the reigns of sultans Suleiman I, also known as Suleiman the Magnificent, (1520-1566), Selim II (1566-1574) and Murad III (1574-1595). The great architect undersigned 365 works across the world, including many mosques, madrasas, bridges and palaces. His final masterpiece, Selimiye Mosque, in northwestern Edirne province and the famous Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul are among his well-known works.

Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın and the U.S.’ new national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, had a phone call late Tuesday, a statement from the Turkish Presidency said, underlining that officials agreed to increase efforts to solve the S-400 row. The call had marked the first diplomatic dialogue between the Biden government and Ankara.

Ties between NATO allies Turkey and the United States were badly strained in 2019 over Ankara’s acquisition of the advanced S-400 Russian air defense system, prompting Washington to remove Turkey from its F-35 Lightning II jet program.

The U.S. argued that the system could be used by Russia to covertly obtain classified details on the Lockheed Martin F-35 jets and is incompatible with NATO systems. Turkey, however, insists that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance. Defense Minister Akar also said that the S-400 will not be integrated into NATO systems.

Kalın and Sullivan also discussed other issues between the countries, such as the U.S.' support for the YPG/PKK terrorist group.

The officials further exchanged views regarding regional developments, namely the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Afghanistan; the Cyprus issue and the Nagorno-Karabakh region which saw Azerbaijan taking back its territories formerly occupied by Armenian forces.

Kalın also congratulated Sullivan for his new post, the statement said.

With regards to the conflicts in Syria and Libya, the officials underlined the importance of political solutions and commitment to fight terror groups.

The two further underlined hope that the exploratory talks between Turkey and Greece will result in peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The officials expressed commitment to improving the bilateral relations between Turkey and the U.S. as two NATO allies.

On Nov. 16, shortly after the 44-day war between Azerbaijan and Armenia ended with the former’s victory, I posited that “a fresh window of opportunity may have emerged before Yerevan.” My argument was that the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh had been the single greatest source of regional instability and that it poisoned Armenia’s relations with its neighbors. I claimed that the end of occupation, therefore, could result in normalization, without really knowing how that solution would be implemented.

For the record, it did not come from my sources either. Yet realignment would not have caught by surprise a careful observer, who followed the South Caucasus calmly and knew the foreign policy priorities of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Indeed, policymakers in Ankara had been saying that Nagorno-Karabakh stood in the way of normalization with Armenia. In the end, I was not wrong.

It became clear, later on, that there was an effort by Ankara and Baku to create an island of peace in the South Caucasus. Shortly after the publication of my commentary, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called for the creation of a mechanism to promote regional stability, cooperation and trust.

He added that the presidents of Turkey and Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin, were already on board. Aliyev’s plan aims to strengthen ties between Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Georgia and Armenia.

In his response, Erdoğan mentioned Armenia by name, noting that the regional platform would create win-win scenarios for everyone: “Armenia stands to benefit most from that initiative.”

Now that Turkey and Azerbaijan spoke their minds about that proposal, where does everyone else stand? There is a notable lack of clear statements, but talks to prevail diplomacy continue behind closed doors.

Just last week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif visited Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey. Tehran thus made contact with all countries expected to join the regional mechanism – which is why observers concluded Zarif’s trip to be about Aliyev’s proposal.

The countries that Iran’s top diplomat visited, however, only vaguely mentioned the regional mechanism in their official statements. For example, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, upon meeting with Zarif, called on countries in the region to solve their problems themselves.

It would seem that no country, except Turkey and Azerbaijan, is eager to talk about the regional mechanism just yet.

Nonetheless, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu offered insights into his conversation with his Iranian counterpart. At a joint press conference with Zarif, he said that “we are planning to work together in the South Caucasus, in a 3+3 format, based on Aliyev’s proposal and with the support of remaining leaders.”

The evolution of the six-nation mechanism into 3+3 is probably a result of ongoing negotiations – which means that diplomatic talks continue in the background.

Georgia would probably need some convincing to be part of the same platform as Russia. Yet the main question remains whether Armenia will join this effort to connect multiple national economies. That country, in turn, seems reluctant to shake the hand of peace that Azerbaijan and Turkey have extended.

Of course, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government, which just lost a war, will face psychological and political challenges if it seeks to join the new regional platform.

Yerevan’s self-inflicted exclusion from the emerging island of peace, however, will result in economic weakness and keep it dependent on the Armenian diaspora and Western countries – a serious dilemma.

The key to a peaceful resolution is to focus on the long term and make bold decisions.