Azerbaijan on Tuesday honored Türkiye's National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar for his support to the nation's army.

Akar was welcomed with a military ceremony at the Defense Ministry as part of his official visit to Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, and awarded the "Medal of Cooperation in the Field of Defense Industry of Azerbaijan" by Defense Minister Madat Guliyev on behalf of President Ilham Aliyev.

Akar said Türkiye and Azerbaijan are working together for the future, security, and welfare of the "noble Turkish nation."

He stated that there is intense cooperation in the fields of military education and defense industry between the countries and emphasized that the unity and solidarity between the two countries will set an example for the entire Turkish world.

Guliyev said, "Azerbaijan is your second homeland," as he expressed gratitude to Akar for supporting Azerbaijan's army.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decadeslong dispute over the region of Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan but was under the illegal occupation of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. Türkiye has always stood by Azerbaijan's just cause.

Moscow brokered a peace deal last November to end six weeks of fighting over the territory, during which more than 6,600 people were killed. The truce allowed Azerbaijan to reclaim control over large parts of Karabakh and surrounding areas that the Armenia-backed separatists controlled.