Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey (left) and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan sign an "alliance agreement" in Artsakh occupied city of Shushi on June 15
Erdogan Proposes Establishing a Turkish Consulate in Shushi
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev signed an alliance accord in Shushi on Tuesday, when the Turkish president visited the ancient Armenian capital that was surrendered to Azerbaijan after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed the November 9 agreement.
The agreement envisions the further strengthening of ties between Ankara and Baku.
“With the Shusha Protocol, we have determined the road map of our relations in the new term. It’s very important that this protocol has been materialized in Shusha. This protocol contains a lot of aspects of our relations as well as the vision in regards to our region,” Erdoğan said a press conference with Aliyev in Shushi.
Erdogan arrived in Baku on Monday and traveled to Varanda (Fizuli), another territory in Artsakh that was surrendered to Azerbaijan, where he was greeted by Aliyev and his wife, Mehirban who accompanied the Turkish leader to Shushi.
While in Shushi, Erdogan and Aliyev signed the agreement, with the Azerbaijani leader saying that his country will never forget the support Turkey provided during last fall’s Karabakh war. Turkey overtly provided military and diplomatic support that included sending hundreds of jihadist terrorists from Syria to fight alongside Azerbaijani forces.
The agreement also contains a security clause, which, according to the Andaolu news agency suggests that “In the event of a third state’s threat to the independence or territorial integrity of any of the parties, the parties will provide the necessary assistance to each other.”
The parties make joint efforts to resolve regional and global security and stability issues, it reads, adding “the parties state that the military-political cooperation developed between the two states and in line with their interests is not against third states.”
Erdogan also announced plans to establish a Turkish consulate in Shushi to facilitate Ankara’s efforts to contribute to “Azerbaijan’s efforts to reconstruct the region in the way we did for the liberation of its territories.”
Since seizing control of Shushi and under the guise of reconstruction activities, Azerbaijan has begun erasing all traces of Armenian culture and heritage, including the destruction of the dome of the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral.
Erdogan’s visit to Shushi also contained a veiled threat to Armenia.
Recalling his own calls for a regional initiative back in December with the participation of six countries, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Iran and Armenia, Erdogan called on Yerevan to positively respond to these calls for peace and stability.
In the event that all parties abandon hate politics and provocations in the region and Azerbaijan and Armenia sign a comprehensive peace agreement, then Turkey will take steps for the normalization of its ties with Yerevan, Erdogan stated.
Erdogan’s visit to Shushi was condemned by the foreign ministries of Armenia and Artsakh, as well as the Artsakh National Assembly.