Türkiye eyes peace, stability in South Caucasus: Erdoğan

ANKARA

Türkiye is attaching great importance to the establishment of stability, peace and prosperity in the South Caucasus, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, urging the signing of a permanent peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia at the earliest time.

"We welcome the steps taken by Azerbaijan and Armenia. We value the agreement on the peace deal as a very important development for the establishment of stability. We wish that this process will be accomplished at the earliest time," Erdoğan told reporters on his return from Azerbaijan.

Erdoğan met Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Azerbaijani province of Lachin for the inauguration of the international airport and marking Azerbaijan’s national day.

Azerbaijan and Armenia announced that they agreed on a 17-article text for reaching a permanent peace following the former’s liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh province from a three-decade Armenian occupation.

On a question, Erdoğan said Türkiye wants to see peace and comfort in the South Caucasus after years of conflict and pain.

"We are very happy to see looming peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. At the same time, we offer our contribution, too," he said. "Peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia will also be to the benefit of Türkiye.”

Türkiye and Armenia are also pursuing a careful normalization process, President Erdoğan stated, underlining that all the countries in the region will benefit from normalization and peace.

On the opening of the Zenzegur corridor, this will not only bridge Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan autonomous region but also will serve as a line to integrate the Turkic world.

“The opening of this crossing in a short period of time will strengthen the transportation and energy infrastructure of the Caucasus. We expect our neighbor Iran to support these steps devoted to serve for peace, development and comfort in our region. We want for them to also enjoy this ‘win-win’ environment,” he said.

Rejecting to use the word "Zengezur," Armenia says it is ready to allow the establishment of a land transportation line from Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan under its control and authority.

Cooperation with Azerbaijan to endure

The opening of an international airport to Lachin is yet another important sign of normalization of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after a three-decade occupation and the liberation war in 2020, Erdoğan stated.

“We, as Türkiye and Azerbaijan are cooperating in many fields and we see our ties in the fields of defense, energy, agriculture and livestock as strategic. Food independence is a matter of national security,” he said, adding the government is aiming to turn Türkiye into a food production hub.

“Now, we want to cooperate with Azerbaijan on food security,” the president said, adding this will likely expand to include other members of the Organization of the Turkic States.