Armenia should grasp and respond to Türkiye and Azerbaijan's calls for peace, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said.
At a joint navy drill dubbed Fraternal Fist, Akar hailed strong relations between Ankara and Baku. Any threats or provocations against Türkiye and Azerbaijan are directed against both countries, said the defense chief on Tuesday.
"A friend for one of us is a friend to the other and an enemy is an enemy for both of us. There should be no doubt about this," Akar added as he observed the military drill in Baku.
Emphasizing that the world and the region are going through an era of increased uncertainty, risks, threats and dangers, Akar said: "Ensuring the security of our countries and nation is possible only if we have an effective, deterrent and respected army amid such critical period."
"Everyone should understand that the region no longer needs a future built on conflict, grudge and hatred, but a future built on mutual development, respect for international law and friendly relations," he added.
Akar urged all to support Turkish and Azerbaijani leaders' efforts for permanent peace and tranquility, as he urged Armenia to grasp the olive branch extended by Türkiye and Azerbaijan.
"It is our sincere wish that Armenia will hold the hand of peace extended by Türkiye and Azerbaijan. We support sincere efforts to establish lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia," he added.
Regarding the military drill, the Turkish defense chief noted that such joint military exercises "maximize the ability of the armies to work together, coordinate and prepare for (possible threat of) war."
On Monday, the Turkish and Azerbaijani militaries, in accordance with an agreement on military cooperation, began a joint military exercise.
"The exercises involving the military personnel of various types of troops, combat and special engineer-sapper equipment, as well as military aviation vehicles of the Azerbaijan Army and the Turkish Armed Forces, are being held in Baku, as well as the territories of the Astara, Jabrayil and Imishli regions," said an Azerbaijani Defense Ministry statement.
Regarding the Zangezur corridor, Akar said: "It is our most sincere wish to re-establish the railway and road connections in the region, especially the opening of the Zangezur corridor, to start economic activities, and to ensure a comprehensive normalization throughout the region, including the relations between Azerbaijan-Armenia and Türkiye-Armenia."
"Thus, we believe that the Caucasus region will peacefully and confidently advance towards the future," he added.
The Zangezur region was part of Azerbaijan, though the Soviets gave it to Armenia in the 1920s, leaving Azerbaijan deprived of its direct overland route to Nakhchivan.
Following a 44-day conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in September 2020, Baku liberated numerous cities, villages and settlements in Karabakh from Armenian occupation, ending in a Moscow-brokered truce. Since then, Azerbaijan has focused on planned connections including motorways and a 43-kilometer (26.7-mile) railway through the corridor.
On his visit to Azerbaijan's capital Baku on Monday, Türkiye's defense minister was received by the country's president, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry.
Akar, accompanied by top commanders including Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler and the Turkish Land Forces, Naval Forces, and Air Force commanders, was received by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, the ministry said.
Akar on Monday also stressed the importance of high-level ties and mutual visits between Türkiye and Azerbaijan, vowing to continue his country's support for Azerbaijan's "righteous cause."
Stressing that Armenia must understand and do what is necessary in response to the peace offering from both Türkiye and Azerbaijan, Akar said: "Everyone, especially Armenia, should see that this is important for the region as well as for the Caucasus to turn into a region of peace and stability."
For his part, Aliyev told Akar and his delegation that 2022 was very successful in terms of the development of friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries, adding that ties in all fields, including the military, were strengthened.
Noting the importance of the latest joint military exercise between Türkiye and Azerbaijan, Aliyev pledged that the two countries will always stand side-by-side.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent regions. Clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian Army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces, violating several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and around 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years. Türkiye was a key backer of Azerbaijan during the 44-day Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia. However, the cease-fire has been broken several times since then.
Meanwhile, Russia's foreign minister on Monday announced preparations for a new Caucasus meeting alongside his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov.
"We also talked about the activities of the consultative regional platform, I mean the three South Caucasus republics and their three neighbors: Türkiye, Russia and Iran. This was once the initiative of the president of Azerbaijan, and the first meeting has already been held. And now we are preparing another such event and agree on specific dates and the agenda," Sergey Lavrov told a joint press conference.
Lavrov said trilateral agreements made with Russia remain the basis for a settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia during the normalization of relations between the two countries in the wake of the fall 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"We discussed in detail the entire range of issues of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization in line with those trilateral documents that were signed starting from November 2020 by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia and the prime minister of Armenia," Lavrov said.
Lavrov said the documents remain a solid basis for settling issues such as "the unblocking of transport and economic ties, the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the achievement of specific agreements on the conclusion of a peace treaty."
Lavrov later reiterated Russia's readiness to continue to assist Azerbaijan and Armenia in the search for a mutually acceptable peace treaty.
"It is very important to decide on the main, fundamental things, and in this sense, what was agreed on by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Prague on Oct. 6 is of crucial importance, when they reaffirmed their determination to solve all problems based on the U.N. Charter and the December 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration," he added.
For his part, Bayramov indicated that Azerbaijan has sent a third opinion package to Armenia for a discussion of a peace treaty between the two.
"Azerbaijan previously prepared the draft agreement in line with five basic principles and presented it to the Armenian side. After that, two rounds of negotiations were held. We presented the third opinion package on the peace agreement to the Armenian side. It is possible to hold the third round of negotiations on the draft peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan by the end of the year," Bayramov said.
But Bayramov also said Armenia is still not implementing the trilateral agreements reached on Karabakh in 2020 and 2021.
"These agreements have not yet been implemented by Armenia. Armenian formations have not been removed from the territory of Karabakh yet, and the mining issue remains a sensitive issue for Azerbaijan ... Maps of fields with mines are missing and this leads to tragic events every week," he said.
