TIGHT FIST

A two-week large-scale winter military exercise Winter-2021 ended recently in the Turkish province of Kars. This is the traditional format of the exercises, with the Azerbaijani military involved in the event. Exercises included tank companies, artillery batteries, sniper units, special forces and helicopters. The military exercise is very important, especially after the end of the 44-day war, in which the Azerbaijani Army defeated the Armenian one. At the same time, it was artillery, special forces, tank units and snipers who played an exceptional role in this victory.

Goal: to get better

Turkey and Azerbaijan have been engaged in the preparation and conduct of large-scale military exercises for several years, which fully comply with the provisions of the Treaty on Strategic Partnership and Mutual Assistance between Azerbaijan and Turkey signed back in 2010. This confirms that the process of military construction in Turkey and Azerbaijan has been developing in parallel and often has a mutually coordinated character.

Even before the war, in August 2020, summing up the results of the next, largest in history Azerbaijani-Turkish exercises, President Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that Turkey would soon become Azerbaijan's number one partner in military-technical cooperation (MTC). In support of this idea, it was decided to test the operability of military weapons and vehicles in service, new or being developed by the defense industry, in Kars. In addition, the exercise developed cooperation and coordination skills in joint operations.

This is very important, since the long-term interaction of the Turkish and Azerbaijani armies is designed specifically for close cooperation. The task is to bring the training of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan to the level of their Turkish counterparts. Therefore, an important goal of the conducted exercises was to test the combat capabilities of the troops, to practice the skills of conducting joint special operations, to bring common commands to automaticity, etc.

Since the exercises were carried out in the winter season in mountainous terrain, the tasks also included improving the shooting ability in deep snow and in severe frost, and increasing the level of training in winter conditions. In addition, attention was paid to field development, deployment, supply and maintenance, as well as ensuring the operation of command systems.

It is especially important to practice attacks, assault and airborne operations, air transport and logistical support.

Unrest in Armenia

In neighbouring Armenia, these exercises were treated with explicit concern. Political, expert and military circles of the country were alarmed by the fact of conducting offensive operations as part of the exercises. In addition, the participation of the combined-arms army stationed in Nakhchivan in the exercises from the Azerbaijani side was a matter of particular concern. However, since Armenia has neither the strength nor the will to oppose its own military-political arguments to the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem, old arguments about the mythical threat to Russia came into play.

Arguments of the Armenian side are full of flaws and inconsistencies, and are based on the fact that the theatre of military exercises is located not far from the location of the 102nd Russian base in Armenia. Allegedly, for Russia "any strengthening of the Turkish Armed Forces in the immediate vicinity of its forces, any infrastructural improvement should cause alarm." Remarkably, the Russian side was much more restrained in its evaluation of the exercises. Neither Russian officials nor representatives of the military leadership commented on the course of exercises. And leading military experts did not see any threat to Russian interests.

One may have analogies with last year's events, when after the armed clashes on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in July 2020, Azerbaijani-Turkish exercises with the use of military aircraft, artillery and ground forces were launched in Azerbaijan. At that time Yerevan also tried to draw the attention of Russia to these exercises. There was an attention, but accents were different. Moscow understood perfectly well that neither Ankara nor Baku were going to attack Armenia, especially the 102nd Russian military base stationed there. And Baku has never concealed its desire to return its occupied territories by force, if necessary. But it is questionable whether Russia assessed this desire as a threat to its own interests in the region. But even then Moscow did not say anything or even a hint of concern.

But Yerevan is obviously concerned with the lack of obvious signs of concern from Moscow. All these fairy tales that NATO, represented by Turkish troops, is establishing a platform in Nakhchivan to attack the CSTO member, Armenia, turned out to be a trap. Only the most naive and deceived representatives of the Armenian society fell into this trap.

Military exercises and new threats

Meanwhile, speaking about the Winter 2021 exercises, it is worth mentioning about the regional and even international agenda behind these exercises. To some extent, the exercises are the response of Azerbaijan and Turkey to the challenges of the times. It is no coincidence that immediately after the arrival of the Azerbaijani forces in Kars, Turkish Defense Ministry announced: "We are proud to greet our brothers who defeated the Armenian army in Garabagh. We will continue to act as a single heart and tight fist, as two states and a single nation.”

It seems that the declared goal of acting "as a single heart and tight fist" refers not only to the situation developing in the South Caucasus but, if necessary, can be applied on a wider geography.

Incidentally, during the Winter 2021 exercise, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a terrorist group operating in Turkey, committed yet another terrible terrorist attack, killing 13 Turkish citizens. In response, the Turkish National Security Forces carried out a fast and massive counter-offensive, which resulted in the arrest of a total of 718 people suspected of having links with terrorists. Turkish military also carried out a four-day operation Pençe Kartal-2 (The Eagle Claw-2) in northern Iraq (Gara district).

Unfortunately, despite the ongoing efforts to counter terrorism, Turkey remains in the zone of potential risk.

After the victory, Azerbaijan had more opportunities to provide active assistance to the Turkish side in the fight against terrorists. It is no secret that during the years of the Armenian occupation, PKK militants have also operated in Garabagh. Many of them took the side of Armenia during the Patriotic War. All of them were either defeated or fled with the remnants of the Armenian army. Many of escapees returned to their hideouts on the border between Iraq and Turkey. And again they continue to do what they do best - to disturb the peace and tranquillity of civilians.

Obviously, under these conditions, the security forces of Azerbaijan demonstrate their readiness to be close to their Turkish brothers and support them in difficult times.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Turkey are not alone in their desire to put an end to the actions of terrorists who threaten the security of these countries. Islamabad is also ready to support Ankara and Baku. Back in January, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar met with Pakistani Air Force Commander Mujahid Anwar Khan, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov and Pakistani Ambassador to Azerbaijan Bilal Haye. The parties discussed joint exercises, including the manoeuvrers of the Azerbaijani Army involving the special forces and other types of troops from Pakistan and Turkey. The parties noted the great potential for military and military-technical cooperation, and expressed their intention to develop this cooperation in the interests of Ankara, Baku and Islamabad.

These meetings became the basis for the military-political format of cooperation between the three states in the future and confirm the establishment of effective security system in the region that meets the interests of all participants.