Turkey, Azerbaijan to hold joint regular security meets

ANKARA

Turkey and Azerbaijan will hold joint regular “national security” meetings in a bid to further deepen their unique “two states-one nation” principle, a senior Turkish official has said, stressing that a recently signed bilateral agreement paves the way for extending the scope of military and security cooperation between the two allies.

The Turkish Parliament ratified the Shusha Protocol, a blueprint the two countries’ leaders signed in June 2021, with Azerbaijan last week. At a meeting at the parliament’s Foreign Committee, Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kıran informed lawmakers about the content of the protocol, daily Milliyet reported on Feb. 7.

Azerbaijan and Turkey enjoy a long history and deep cultural and linguistic bonds, Kıran said, stressing that the Shusha Protocol is creating a very solid structure to level up these ties to the strategic partnership and alliance.

According to the information provided by Kıran, the protocol will determine political and legal structures for the establishment of alliance relationship between the two countries.

“In this context, we are committed to providing the necessary assistance and coordination of the armed forces in accordance with the United Nations charter when there is a threat to our independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity,” Kıran was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Joint regular security meetings

With the protocol, Turkey and Azerbaijan underline their commitment to jointly exerting efforts to resolve the problems and conflicts that concern regional and global security, he stated.

“We are planning to execute regular joint meetings between our national security councils. What we mean is the cooperation of our National Security Council with its interlocutor, but the modalities of this cooperation will be executed in different ways depending on the developments in the field,” the deputy minister stated.

The protocol stipulates joint efforts for the re-structuring and the modernization of the armed forces, he said, adding that this will include better cooperation in the field of defense industry as well as running joint projects and technology transfer.

Kıran described the de-mining as one of the most important dimensions of Turkey’s military commitment towards Azerbaijan as it provided assistance for clearing an area of 132 square kilometers in Nagorno-Karabakh from the mines planted by Armenia. “This work will continue,” he informed.

Cyber security, economic cooperation and transportation

Kıran emphasized that the protocol covers more areas, including cooperation in cyber security, economy and transportation, etc.

Ankara and Baku agreed to carry out joint scientific studies in the field of cyber security and train experts to tackle it.

“In addition to all this comprehensive cooperation, we set our goals and targets in the fields of economy, trade, transportation and energy. In this context, we will intensify our efforts to diversify exports, create joint production in future-oriented areas and develop a more favorable investment environment,” he said.

In order to open new land transportation avenues, Turkey and Azerbaijan will continue to work for the opening of the Zengezur Corridor as well as the Nakhichevan-Kars railway, he said.

With the protocol, the relevant bodies of the two countries will also deepen cooperation against terrorism, organized crime, human trafficking and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Kıran stated.

Efforts for furthering the activities towards the Turkic world, promotion and protection of Turkic culture and heritage will be strengthened, the deputy minister said, informing that Turkey has submitted a draft law for the establishment of Turkey-Azerbaijan joint university in Baku to the Azerbaijani government as of Jan. 10.