The Turkish president arrived on Monday September 25 in the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan, located between Armenia and Iran and bordering Turkey, while the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has been tense for several days. Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated Azerbaijan’s “victory” in Nagorno-Karabakh, which he said opens up “new opportunities for normalization” in the region. “It is a matter of pride for Turkey to see Azerbaijan’s anti-terrorist operations successfully accomplished in a short time and with respect for the rights of civilians,” the Turkish president said in a statement to the press. alongside his counterpart Ilham Aliev.
Erdogan used this press conference to send a clear message to Armenia: “We hope that Armenia will grasp the peaceful hand extended to it. »
Officially, the meeting between Erdogan and Aliyev was to launch the construction of an 85-kilometer gas pipeline between eastern Turkey and Nakhichevan and to preside over the inauguration of a military complex. But according to Turkish media, they were also to discuss the opening of the Zangezur corridor to the Azeris through Armenia.
Once in the company of his Turkish counterpart, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev assured that the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh would be “guaranteed”. “Residents of Nagorno Karabakh, regardless of ethnicity, are citizens of Azerbaijan. Their rights will be guaranteed by the Azerbaijani state,” he said during a joint press conference with Erdogan.
Annexing the Zangezur corridor, along the border with Iran, would allow Baku to establish territorial continuity as far as Nakhchivan and, beyond, with Turkey. The small strip of land of Nakhichevan has been attached to Azerbaijan since 1923, but without continuity with the rest of this country.
Moscow was also quick to react, accusing the Armenian authorities on Monday of seeking to “destroy” bilateral relations between the two countries, denouncing a “huge error”, in the midst of the crisis in Nagorno Karabakh, of which Yerevan partly rejects the responsibility on Moscow. “We are convinced that the Armenian authorities are making a huge mistake by knowingly seeking to destroy Russian-Armenian ties, which have many facets and were founded centuries ago, and by making its country a hostage to the geopolitical games of the West,” Russian diplomacy said in a statement.