Category: 2021

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian both expressed readiness for a joint summit as the second Karabakh war between the two countries is left a year behind.

Pashinian commented on the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan during a meeting with the Armenian community in Lithuania.

Noting that Armenia is ready to hold high-level talks with Azerbaijan, Pashinian said: “On July 1, I announced that we were ready for a high-level summit. This meeting can be at the level of foreign ministers or prime minister-president. I believe that there are no restrictions on the place and time of a meeting with the president of Azerbaijan.”

Arguing that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group is experienced in organizing such summits, Pashinian said: “We are happy to state that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have started to intensify their activities. We are ready to start the process of delineating the borders.”

Aliyev also said in a statement on Oct. 2: “I am ready and I have already stated my position. If the Armenian side is ready, I am also ready. Earlier this year, upon the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, we had a tripartite meeting. I can talk to Pashinian at any time when he is ready. I am open to negotiations and I think this could be a good sign that the war is over and that page has been turned. This is very important.”

Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

The Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenian occupation.

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution. The truce is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have been withdrawing in line with the agreement.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said in a statement regarding Pashinian’s plan to meet with Putin in Russia, “Pashinian is expected to visit Russia. A private meeting with Putin is being prepared.”

Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said after his meeting with Putin in Sochi that Russia was ready to create a six-nation platform.

Erdoğan has frequently called for a six-nation platform comprising Turkey, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia for permanent peace, stability and cooperation in the region, saying it would be a win-win initiative for all regional actors in the Caucasus.

Turkey believes that permanent peace is possible through mutual security-based cooperation among the states and people of the South Caucasus region.

He noted that the Zangezur corridor would provide opportunities for the region as a whole, in terms of trade and economy.

“Azerbaijan is carrying out widescale work for this corridor,” Erdoğan said, adding that Armenia also needs to fulfill its responsibilities.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said last week that Turkey would coordinate all steps to be taken in terms of reestablishing relations with Armenia amid positive statements in that regard, but no meeting has been scheduled with his Armenian counterpart.

Pashinian’s spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan last month said her country is ready to engage in high-level dialogue with Turkey. She noted that Yerevan was ready to establish the highest-level dialogue with Ankara and eliminate obstacles on the transit corridor that would have to go through Armenia to connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan enclave that borders Turkey and Iran.

Armenia and Turkey never established diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s. The ties have further deteriorated due to Turkey’s support for its regional ally Azerbaijan, which fought with Armenia last year for the liberation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Ankara has pledged its full support to Baku in its efforts to liberate its lands from Armenian occupation. A joint Turkish-Russian center was established to monitor the truce. Russian peacekeeping troops have also been deployed to the region.

Meanwhile, Aliyev Monday visited the city of Jabrayil and some surrounding villages and towns in the first year of its liberation from occupation.

Speaking in the town of Sukovushan, Aliyev emphasized that this place is of great strategic importance and that the liberation of Sukovushan provided great morale for the army.

“During the occupation, the Armenians cut off the water of the Sukovushan dam in summer and opened it in winter. While our villagers and farmers were dehydrated during the summer months, the water released during the winter months would cause flooding. This shows once again what an ugly foe we are dealing with. They used every opportunity to do us more harm,” he said.

Aliyev, who also criticized former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his speech, said: “The analysis of the war shows once again that the losers of this war are Serzh Sargsyan and others like him. Now they want to blame Nikol Pashinian for the defeat. It is supposed that Pashinian is guilty. Pashinian came to power in 2018. Serzh Sargsyan founded the army. He served as a defense minister, prime minister, secretary of the president, head of the security service, and became president for 10 years. We destroyed that army and destroyed Serzh Sargsyan and elements like him. Let this defeat not be blamed on Pashinian. What Pashinian did is a separate issue. But we defeated Sargsyan. The army he formed knelt before us.”

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairperson Devlet Bahçeli criticized the United States for threatening to impose more sanctions on Turkey if it proceeds with the purchase of additional S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, and said their threats are in vain.

Speaking at his party’s first parliamentary meeting of the new legislative session, Bahçeli said Turkey will not give up its sovereign character after the U.S.’ “sanctions card.”

“So the U.S. administration threatens us with new sanctions. Let them do that, we’ve gotten used to it by now,” Bahçeli said, as he criticized Washington for threatening Turkey but providing weapons to terrorists in northern Syria.

The U.S. has called on Turkey to refrain from buying additional Russian arms after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said they still intended to acquire a new batch of Russian-made missile systems, despite Washington’s opposition.

Turkey’s initial purchase of the first batch of S-400s from Russia strained ties with the U.S.

The move prompted Washington to remove Turkey from the new generation F-35 Lightning II jet program before it imposed sanctions on the country’s Defense Industry Presidency (SSB), its chief, Ismail Demir, and three other employees in December

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 that it 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.

Erdoğan explained that Turkey was not given the option to buy American-made Patriot missiles and that the U.S. had not delivered F-35 stealth fighter jets despite payment of $1.4 billion (TL 12.37 billion).

The MHP chair also slammed the U.S. for plans to label the Idealist Hearths as a terrorist group.

“Only martyrs and heroes come from Idealist Hearths, not terrorists or traitors,” Bahçeli said.

The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to designate the Idealist Hearths, as a foreign terrorist group. The Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and the Armenian lobby in the U.S. are thought to be behind the act.

Meanwhile, Bahçeli also criticized opposition parties for seeing Kurdish people as a “problem.”

“Turkey does not have a Kurdish issue,” he said, adding that the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Good Party (IP) see Kurds as a problem. He noted that there is a terrorism problem in the country instead. He also dismissed the opposition’s demand to hold early elections once again and said there was no return to the parliamentary system.

“The presidential system needs to be enhanced and maintained,” he said, in response to the opposition’s plans to return to the parliamentary system.

The CHP and IP argue that Turkey should return to the parliamentary system and the CHP has been working on a “strengthened parliamentary system” proposal.

The opposition-led Nation Alliance’s other main partner, IP, also revealed its legislative reform proposal, called the “Improved and Strengthened Parliamentary System,” last month.

The system includes eight main features: An “impartial president,” a “pluralist democracy, participative government, strong Parliament,” “separation of powers and strong supervision,” “rule of law and independent impartial judiciary,” “merit in the state,” “human rights and individual freedoms, strong social state, strong civil society, strong youth,” “free press and media” and “fair and free elections.”

In response, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) earlier this month dismissed the possibility of early elections and the opposition’s demand to return to a parliamentary system.

It has been more than four years since Turkey switched from a parliamentary system to the current presidential system after the majority of Turkish voters opted to create the new system. Turkish voters narrowly endorsed an executive presidency in the April 16, 2017 referendum with 51.4% of the votes in favor. The official transition to the new system took place when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took the presidential oath of office in Parliament after the June 24, 2018, general elections, during which he won 52.6% of the votes.

The next presidential and general elections are planned to be held in 2023.