MESSAGES FROM THE "BACKBONE OF EURASIA"

The official visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to Azerbaijan became the confirmation of the strategic nature of relations between the two countries. The chief diplomat of the brotherly country was traditionally greeted in Azerbaijan at the highest level. President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister Artur Rasizada, Milli Maclis Speaker Oqtay Asadov and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov received him. During the meetings they discussed bilateral cooperation, joint implementation of energy projects and regional security, including the Nagornyy Karabakh issue, as well as the preparation for the forthcoming summits - the meeting of the heads of Turkic-speaking countries in mid-August and the session of the Azerbaijani-Turkish Strategic Cooperation Council at the highest level, slated for this autumn. 

In his remarks with journalists Davutoglu highly appraised bilateral relations of the strategic partners. Speaking about the visit's results, the minister especially noted the decision to organize internships of young Azerbaijani and Turkish diplomats in the foreign ministries of the two countries, starting this year. It is understandable why Davutoglu emphasized this agreement, considering that the foreign ministries of the two countries largely pursue the same goals. In particular, this concerns the notorious "Armenian issue". The Armenians worldwide are stepping up efforts for international recognition of the Armenian "genocide" as the 100th anniversary of the well-known events in the Ottoman Empire draws closers. Turkish and Azerbaijani diplomats will have to jointly withstand attempts to impart to the international community a falsified version of what transpired in 1915.  

In fact, this visit of the Turkish foreign minister to Azerbaijan can be viewed from the standpoint of allied countries coordinating positions on regional security issues, with the Armenian issue being a significant one of these. Baku is used to anti-Azerbaijan rhetoric of Yerevan, but an anti-Turkish political campaign has been gaining momentum in Armenia in recent days and Armenian officials again began to voice territorial claims against Turkey. At the second all-Armenian forum of lawyers Armenian Prosecutor-General Agvan Ovsepyan made a scandalous statement: "The offspring of the victims of the 1915 'Armenian genocide' must receive material compensation. The Armenian Apostolic Church must be given back the temples that miraculously survived and the land that belonged to the church, while Armenian must return its lost territories". As we can see, Armenia not only refuses to give up on territorial claims to its neighbours, but also seeks to legally justify them. This is one of the threats that require the joining of diplomatic efforts of Baku and Ankara. Incidentally, at the briefing in Baku Davutoglu commented on the said statement of the Armenian prosecutor. "Even the very thought of this is absurd. If we wish to form a peaceful Caucasus, then each country must know its place and borders. Otherwise, the first to suffer will be the ones that make claims against their neighbours," the Turkish foreign minister said. He added that Ankara will not cede an inch of Turkish land.

Turkey holds a similar position with regard to the territorial problem faced by its ally Azerbaijan. While in Baku, Davutoglu said that the international community should ask the following question: why over the two decades of its activity the OSCE Minsk Group could not make headway in settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict? "I believe that other members of the Minsk Group, including Turkey, should also actively take part in the peace process," the Turkish minister said to express his country's interest to facilitating settlement of this long-time problem. "I believe that allowing Turkey to take a more active part in settling this issue would benefit its resolution," the minister said. No matter how utopian this suggestion sounds (obvious refusal of Yerevan to let Ankara become a mediator will from the start doom this idea), Turkey's wish to play a more active role in resolving the regional security issues is plain to see. 

Incidentally, at the briefing with his Turkish counterpart Mammadyarov said that the next meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers is likely to take place in New York in end-September. Citing diplomatic sources in Ankara, Zerkalo newspaper reports that "serious preparation is under way for organizing on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly the first quadrilateral meeting in the format of foreign relations leaders of the USA, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. This meeting will become a preparation for the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents, which to all likelihood will take place after the Azerbaijani presidential election".

Armenia once already failed a Turkish peace initiative in 2008 to create a platform of security and cooperation in the South Caucasus. The platform also aimed to reduce tension from regional conflicts. It is obvious that now Turkey, in coordination with Azerbaijan, seeks to achieve its goals through indirect means. Ankara suggests various formats for multilateral cooperation, with the Azerbaijani-Turkish strategic cooperation as their basis (Davutoglu described this cooperation as the "Eurasian region's backbone").  

In addition to intensively stepping up cooperation on bilateral basis with Azerbaijan and Georgia, Turkey also advances many options for multilateral cooperation. Over the recent periods several such formats that involve Azerbaijan and Turkey have been formed. Good examples of trilateral cooperation between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia include such major projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The countries do not hide that in addition to their economic significance these projects also carry a political nature. In addition, during his conversation with journalists in Baku Davutoglu mooted an interesting initiative on Azerbaijan and Turkey advancing into the East. The minister said that the countries could expand partnership into the Central Asia, creating a trilateral format, such as Azerbaijan-Turkey-Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan-Turkey-Turkmenistan. "It is Ankara's goal to deepen economic and diplomatic relations, as well as to expand cultural links with these regions," the minister said.

One should also remember that Turkey also represents NATO's interests in the region and this is the reason for many joint initiatives that require the alliance's participation. Turkish and Azerbaijani security experts already raise the issue of the need to involve international forces, primarily NATO forces, to protect the regional energy infrastructure in the light of threats coming from Yerevan against strategic pipelines in Azerbaijan. Furthermore, at the briefing on the outcome of the talks with Davutoglu Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov talked about the importance of completing as soon as possible the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The minister said that it could prove useful for the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan, scheduled for 2014. This topic was discussed separately at the meeting of the two countries'' foreign ministers.

It may be a coincidence or not, but Davutoglu's visit to Baku coincided with the joint tactical drills of the Azerbaijani and Turkish armed forces. The drills will continue until 28 July in Baku and Naxcivan, not far from the border with Armenia. "The objective of the drills is developing cooperation and carrying joint operations by the subunits of the Turkish and Azerbaijani ground troops, mutual exchange of experience and information," the General Staff reports. An infantry division subunit will take part in the drill in Baku, while a mechanized infantry platoon will take part in the military exercise in Naxcivan.

There is no need to guess who has been tagged as "potential adversary" during the drill. Only one country of the region openly makes territorial claims to Azerbaijan and Turkey. It is noteworthy that in the same days Armenia itself conducted military exercises and not just in any place, but on the occupied lands of Azerbaijan.

The joint Azerbaijani and Turkish drills act as a remainder for those who wish to play on the nerves of Azerbaijan that Turkey is actually a guarantor of the brotherly republic's security. Although Azerbaijan has long since become able to stand its ground, Turkish military and political interests should not be written off. It is probably no coincidence that after laying a wreath at the memorial for Turkish soldiers who died in the fight for liberation of Azerbaijani lands, Davutoglu looked at the map of the 1918 battles of the Ottoman Empire for the Caucasus during the WWI.

The latest developments show that strategic cooperation of Azerbaijan and Turkey has turned into a key factor of economic and military-political stability in the region. While in the first years of Azerbaijan's independence Turkey played the role of "big brother", today the strategic partners are on equal grounds. Just recently Turkey helped the young republic to stand on its feet, and today Azerbaijan turned into a major investor in the Turkish economy (according to Milli Maclis Speaker Oqtay Asadov, in near future the volume of these investments will reach 18bn dollars). Azerbaijan, as the leading country of the South Caucasus and the locomotive of its development, is today a very important economic and political ally of Turkey, as well as a key partner for furthering its interests in the region and beyond. In exchange, Azerbaijan has the right to count on military and political support.