Turkish, Azerbaijani FMs hold key meet amid Caucasus peace talks

ANKARA

Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, Hakan Fidan and Ceyhun Bayramov, held a key meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara on Aug. 27 to discuss their countries’ ongoing separate talks with Armenia for the normalization of their relationships.

Bayramov came to Ankara for a one-day visit and met his Turkish counterpart, Fidan.

On the top of the agenda was the ongoing normalization efforts between three Caucasus countries, namely Türkiye, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Their talks came as hopes for a lasting agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia have recently increased as the two countries have agreed to temporarily remove the controversial Zengezur Corridor from the peace deal.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister’s visit to Ankara comes nearly a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin met Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev and offered his good offices as a mediator for the resolution of the Yerevan-Baku deal.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have launched talks for a permanent peace agreement after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war where the former could liberate its lands from the 30-year-long occupation of Yerevan. There are calls on both sides to finalize the negotiations and sign a treaty without delay.

Türkiye and Armenia are also in talks for the establishment of diplomatic relations and opening the sealed border. Ankara says it will act simultaneously with Azerbaijan in normalizing ties with Armenia.

Turkish and Armenian special envoys have recently met on the border as part of normalization efforts. They announced that they will start technical works for the resumption of the functions of a railroad between the two countries.

The two ministers have also raised bilateral issues including economic and trade cooperation as well as energy, transportation and other relevant areas.

Türkiye and Azerbaijan enjoy substantial economic cooperation through trade and investments. The bilateral trade was registered as $7.6 billion in 2023 with efforts to double it.

In addition, about 5,500 Turkish companies operate in Azerbaijan with a total investment of $17.5 billion. In return, some 2,600 Azerbaijani companies execute business in Türkiye with around $19.5 billion worth of investment.