Erdoğan: President Ilham Aliyev will go down in history as leader to bring peace to region

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will go down in history as a leader who will bring peace to the region, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

At an informal meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States in Budapest, Erdoğan noted that reaching an agreement on the text of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia is an important step in this direction, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

President Ilham Aliyev has played a central role in reshaping the geopolitical landscape of the South Caucasus, particularly in the context of the decades-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Karabakh region. His leadership has been marked by a combination of assertive military strategy and diplomatic initiatives aimed at achieving lasting peace and reintegration.

After Azerbaijan's military success in the 2020 Second Karabakh War, which resulted in the restoration of Azerbaijani control over a significant part of its internationally recognised territory, President Aliyev shifted focus toward post-conflict stabilisation. He declared Azerbaijan's readiness to work toward a comprehensive peace agreement with Armenia, grounded in mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity based on international law.

In September 2023, after the 24-hour anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh and the dissolution of the separatist regime, Aliyev reiterated that the Karabakh conflict was resolved, calling on Armenia to seize the opportunity to normalise relations.

By Khagan Isayev