SHOULDER TO SHOULDER

The strategic alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkey is not limited to verbal declarations about coordination of efforts in the international arena, but is filled with practical actions that involve regular meetings and negotiations at the level of heads of state, ministers and members of parliament. For obvious reasons, a special place here is occupied by a number of mutual visits and consultations between the foreign ministers. They are held every year and many times in Baku and Ankara, as well as in third countries. A new practice is trilateral meetings where high-ranking representatives of Turkey and Azerbaijan meet and negotiate with the participation of important partner countries, be it Georgia, Iran or Turkmenistan. However, the bilateral format of meetings between the foreign ministers of our countries remains a priority.

The two-day visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Baku in late February coincided with the 23rd anniversary of the act of genocide that Armenian punitive squads committed in Xocali [Khojaly]. It is clear that the date for the visit was not chosen by chance, but represented a definite message to Armenians and forces patronizing them, which have launched a campaign to demonize the Turks in connection with the centenary of the so-called "genocide of 1915". Instead of holding a universal mourning campaign for the tragic events that belong to a different era and history, the Armenians themselves must repent for the mass killings, ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation of Azerbaijani lands they implemented in modern times.

Speaking at a press conference in Baku, the Turkish foreign minister said: "Armenia failed the test of sincerity. If Armenia recognizes its mistakes, withdraws its troops from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan and respects the territorial integrity of neighbouring countries, we are ready to open the doors to its participation in regional projects in the future." Cavusoglu said that Nagornyy Karabakh is the biggest challenge on the road to peace and stability in the South Caucasus. He stressed that "... as a member of the Minsk Group Turkey always raises the issue of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, which it considers its own problem, in multilateral platforms and in the course of communication with third countries. We will continue our activities to inform the international community and resolve this problem in Azerbaijan's interests as soon as possible".

The minister recalled that during the review of the Turkish-Armenian protocols on the normalization of relations signed in Switzerland "... Armenia's Constitutional Court attempted to emasculate the essence of these documents. Now Yerevan has announced the withdrawal of the protocols. I openly declare that this step does not make any sense for Ankara." The Turkish foreign minister drew attention to the upcoming celebration of the centennial of the Canakkale victory. "These events are nothing other than the demonstration of Turkey's willingness to engage in dialogue with the states whose troops aspired to occupy its land at one time. It is a message of peace and friendship," Cavusoglu said, noting that the leaders of a number of states have already confirmed their participation in events to mark the Canakkale victory.

Mevlut Cavusoglu was received by President Ilham Aliyev, who recalled with satisfaction his state visit to Turkey last year, during which a meeting of the High-Level Turkey-Azerbaijan Strategic Cooperation Council was held. The president noted the importance of discussing further plans of joint activities, stressing that unity between the two countries is the guarantor of stability in the region. At the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and TANAP projects, and military-technical, cultural and economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey. By the way, economic cooperation has seen steady progress - in 2014, the turnover amounted to 1.8bn dollars, of which imports from Turkey to Azerbaijan totalled 1.3bn dollars, while exports to Turkey totalled 0.5bn dollars. The parties intend to increase bilateral trade to 15bn dollars.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gave a lecture at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy on "Turkey's foreign policy: Cooperation in the Caucasus and with Azerbaijan". According to Cavusoglu, today there are many opportunities in the region, but there are also some difficulties. "Baku and Ankara should be strong enough to withstand these difficulties," he said. According to the minister, the economic crisis that began in Europe 8-9 years ago has still not ended, but Turkey and Azerbaijan have been able to do everything possible to strengthen their positions and look different in a good way against the background of many countries. "Azerbaijan has already become a recognized player in the world, which itself provides assistance to other countries. Azerbaijan's positions on the world stage are getting stronger," he said. Recognition of the growing role of Turkey in the world is its participation in the G20 summits of leading economic powers of the world. The next G20 summit will be held in Antalya. Mevlut Cavusoglu said: "We could invite only one country to the summit, and we invited Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan's participation in the G-20 summit will strengthen the position of Turkey."

On 26 February, Mevlut Cavusoglu took part in events to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Xocali events. In many cities of fraternal Turkey, public events and other activities were held in connection with this date. President Erdogan, speaking in Ankara on this day, said that "for us, this tragedy is of great importance" and the Turkish people, like the Azerbaijani people, will not forget those horrors. The solidarity, which Turkey and its diaspora entities in third countries show during the Justice for Xocali international campaign initiated by the Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva, is highly appreciated in Azerbaijan. In turn, Azerbaijan, its diplomatic missions, media and diaspora organizations, shoulder to shoulder with Turkey, are actively exposing the false campaign to accuse this country of implementing "genocide" against the Armenians.

Accusing Turkey, Armenians also target Azerbaijan. They seek to parasitize on the sympathy of the international community to avoid responsibility for their own crimes against humanity committed, in particular, against the civilian population of Xocali. Until recently, with the assistance of its Western backers, Yerevan hoped to prompt Ankara to give up its principled support for Azerbaijan in its just demands to restore its territorial integrity as a sign of reconciliation with the Armenians and indirect compensation to them. However, realizing that these expectations are illusory, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan withdrew the so-called "Swiss Protocols" that provided for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations from the parliament.

Turkey is a major regional power with large demographic, economic and military potential. Based on it, the Turkish leadership pursues an independent foreign policy. Only the imagination of Armenians, which is burdened with myths and geopolitical fantasies, could develop and strengthen the idea that the world powers will put their relations with Ankara at risk because of unfounded Armenian claims, especially as the complicated situation in the Middle East and around the perimeter of the former Soviet Union due to the crisis in Ukraine makes partnership with Turkey valuable for the West and Russia. It is not surprising that Armenian attempts to blackmail Turkey with the threat of broad recognition of so-called "genocide of 1915" around the world are suffering a setback.

Turkish leaders publicly and emphatically rebuff Armenian actions. For example, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Cemil Cicek said that there was no "genocide" against the Armenians. According to him, Ankara intends to confront the Armenian diaspora, which is trying to denigrate Turkey, around the world. "Turkey has opened its archives to investigate the events of 1915. If Armenia has similar archives, let her open them," Cicek said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said bluntly that Ankara does not consider the events of 1915 "genocide" against the Armenians. The conciliatory gestures that the Turkish authorities previously made towards Armenia should not deceive anyone. Neither Armenians nor their patrons will manage to force Turkey to repent of the crimes that are attributed to it and destroy the strong alliance between Ankara and Baku. The words of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu regarding the outcome of his visit to Baku that "Azerbaijan and Turkey are stronger together" are the best proof of it.