President Aliyev: Turkish-Azerbaijani unity pivotal regional factor VIDEO

After the one-on-one meeting, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made press statements in Jabrayil on October 20.

First, President Ilham Aliyev made a statement, Azertag reports.

Statement by President Aliyev

- Dear brother, dear President [Erdogan].

Dear guests.

Today is a significant day in the life of our country. It is a great honour for me to welcome my dear brother to Jabrayil, Zangilan, and say "Welcome!" to him. Today we celebrated the opening of the Zangilan Airport together. A year ago, with the participation of my dear brother, we opened the Fuzuli Airport together, and today - the Zangilan Airport. That means that we are together on all happy days.

Today is a very important day for Karabakh and East Zangazur. Today is the second anniversary of the liberation of Zangilan city from occupation. The Armenian occupation was put an end exactly two years ago. The Azerbaijani army liberated Zangilan, and the Turkish president's visit to Azerbaijan, Zangilan, and Jabrayil on this day has special significance.

A few days after Zangilan's liberation from the Armenian occupation, Gubadli was liberated, and one of the groups of the Azerbaijani army began to advance in the direction of Lachin, and the other took the direction of Shusha. On November 8, Shusha, considered an impregnable fortress, was liberated from the Armenian occupation, the flag of Azerbaijan was raised and after that Armenia capitulated.

All this glorious history is our common history, because, from the first hours of the Second Karabakh War, my dear brother, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for Azerbaijan. He stated that Azerbaijan is not alone and that Türkiye stands by Azerbaijan. This political and moral support continued until the last day of the war. This gave us additional strength and prevented some forces from interfering in this issue. Turkish-Azerbaijani unity has won another victory. Today, in restored Karabakh and Zangazur, we once again see Turkish-Azerbaijani unity. Large-scale restoration and creative work are being carried out. Today, together with my dear brother, we got acquainted with the construction of the railway and celebrated the opening of the Dost Agropark. This is the first private investment in this region, and the name of the agro park - "Agropark Dost" says it all. Turkish companies work together with us in constructing and laying roads. We are grateful to the Turkish companies for the great work done in a short time. It is planned to build roads – some roads are already ready for operation, railways, as well as 33 tunnels. Some of them are actively working. The total length of the tunnels exceeds 50 kilometres. Eighty-four bridges will be built, and some of them have already been built. The total length of the bridges is 12 kilometres. This is the work that has been done and that needs to be done only at the first stage. Even more extensive work will be done to fully restore Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur, and we will do it.

Today our official ceremony took place in the city of Jabrayil. In essence, Jabrayil city does not exist, because here, where we are sitting, there were houses, people lived, and life was in full swing. But during the Armenian occupation, the Armenians razed all our towns and villages to the ground. These destroyed buildings remain from Jabrayil ciy. These destructions were not committed during the First Karabakh War, they were committed by the Armenians during the occupation period. Look at the hatred they had for the Azerbaijani people, that they destroyed all the buildings to the ground. Their main goal was that the Azerbaijanis would never return to these lands so there would be nowhere to return. But we came back, we came back at the cost of spilt blood, we came back fighting, and today life has already returned to this region. We see this in the example of Aghali village. Yesterday [October 19] I was in the village of Aghali and visited a school. There are 70 children studying there. That is, none of these children has seen these places. Even the parents of many of them were born during the occupation. Many were still children themselves during the occupation. But they came back because the [native] land attracts, the motherland attracts. We'll all be back. All former internally displaced persons will return. We are doing everything possible for their return, working day and night, and our Turkish brothers are with us in this restorative and creative work.

Today is another celebration of Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood. Such a powerful state as Türkiye is a fraternal country, and this is a great happiness for us. The Second Karabakh War and the post-war period further strengthened this unity. Last year in Shusha we signed the Shusha Declaration, and Türkiye and Azerbaijan officially became allies. We have become allies in all spheres, which is a serious achievement for our people, at the same time it is a serious message to the region and the world because Turkish–Azerbaijani unity is a very important factor in the region. This is a factor of peace and stability. At the same time, if someone tries to take unfair actions against us again, then, of course, this factor should be seriously taken into account.

Thanks to my dear brother's leadership, Türkiye has passed a long successful path in recent years and has become a power centre on a global scale. Stability and development are evident in Türkiye. Today, many countries of the world are experiencing a crisis, states are in an unmanageable state, and economic difficulties and problems cause people just discontent. Türkiye is confidently moving forward, implementing gigantic projects, enjoys authority in the region, and is an important power centre in the world. Everyone should take this into account and everyone should know that these successes have been achieved thanks to my brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In Azerbaijan, Tayyip bay [mode of address] is treated with great respect and love, and every person who comes to Azerbaijan can see this.

After the Second Karabakh War, the Turkish-Azerbaijani brotherhood and unity rose to an even higher level. You probably also see that the Azerbaijani and Turkish flags are flying side by side everywhere. These are feelings coming from the heart, this is an inheritance inherited from our ancestors, their covenant, and this is the dictate of the time. Today my dear brother is here with a representative delegation, the government members, which once again shows that we are, as always, together and will be together. From now on, the work carried out in the region, of course, will be carried out with the active participation and permission of Türkiye and Azerbaijan. Political initiatives, economy, energy, transport – our cooperation in all these areas has already gone beyond the regional framework and reached the international level.

Dear brother, I want to thank you once again for being with us on this joyful day. I want to wish the brotherly Turkish people happiness and peace. Long live the Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood!

XXX

Then Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a statement.

Statement by President Erdogan

- Dear Mr President, my dear brother.

Dear ministers.

I greet you with the most sincere feelings and love.

First of all, I would like to congratulate you once again on the restoration of the Independence Day celebrated by Azerbaijan two days ago [October 18].

A second airport opens in the ancient Azerbaijani lands liberated from occupation within one year. The opening of the second airport, which is indeed one of the most modern airports in the world, is something that not every country is capable of after such a difficult period. I take a look around at the condition in which Jabrayil was brought during the occupation. I asked my brother, doesn't the OSCE and the European Union come here to see all this? No, they don't come. Why don't they come? Because they will understand their guilt, they will see what the West has done. They will witness the state to which Jabrayil and other Karabakh regions were subjected during the occupation, which they supported. They obviously don't want to see it. In fact, they know what they have done here.

But after we saw this - we talked about it – we definitely need to file a lawsuit and demand compensation. We must demand compensation, thus driving them into a corner. The world should get to know the West better, we all should.

These regions, destroyed to the ground, are currently being revived under the leadership of my brother Ilham Aliyev with huge efforts, and an incredible desire for development, which is rarely found in the world. A new Azerbaijan is being built with bridges, railways, highways and motorways. Today we see and experience this. We are talking about this firsthand, we see it with our own eyes. Thanks to the joint actions taken here by the whole team, of course, led by my brother Ilham Aliyev, thanks to the work carried out, Azerbaijan, as they say, rises from the ashes in such a short time.

The international airport, the opening of which we celebrated today in Zangilan, is an indicator that Azerbaijan, which wrote the chronicle of heroism, is now writing the chronicle of Karabakh's development. And the fact that Turkish companies are participating in this important project is a source of special pride for us.

We are also extremely happy about the beginning of the return of our Azerbaijani brothers to the liberated lands. God willing, we see that with the settlement of our Azerbaijani brothers in the village of Aghali, built in accordance with the "smart village" concept, as part of the process of the Great Return, their homesickness has come to an end. We have seen Aghali village, and now we cannot call it a village. Aghali is already developing as a modern city.

We saw the Dost Agropark next to it, and very important steps have been taken there in the field of agriculture, including animal husbandry. A year ago, when we participated in the groundbreaking ceremony, it was a completely different territory. But today we see how this territory is being revived thanks to very serious work in the field of agriculture. It contains almost three thousand heads of thoroughbred cattle. The work in this direction is really the realization of the project of the Great Return.

On the way here, my esteemed brother explained some questions to me. For example, water remains the most important problem here. As for water, thanks to the construction of a reservoir here in a short time, this problem will be eliminated. Thus, thanks to the development of agriculture in these fields, serious results will be achieved, we really see this and believe in it.

We have seen that serious results can be achieved here in the field of agriculture in a short time. This is evidenced by the harvested bundles of hay. We watched the event while sitting on these bundles. Congratulations on this occasion as well. That is, they have already replaced the mines.

Here they are trying to completely eliminate the problem with the infrastructure. I think in a year we will see the road to Jabrayil in a completely different state because serious steps are also being taken here related to infrastructure issues. Steps have been taken here thanks to the joint work of the companies Cengiz and Kalon. A year after our previous visit, we noticed that roads are being paved, bridges are being built, and preparations are being made for the railway, the foundation of which we laid today. The laying of the railway here is really of great importance from the point of view of demonstrating the high pace of development.

Türkiye is ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan within the framework of the Karabakh development plan in all projects, including agriculture, green energy and smart cities. We have already taken steps based on solidarity. By developing them, we are ready to implement more important and gigantic projects together.

Naturally, another important step is the "Azerbaijan-Türkiye International Forestry Training Centre", "Smart Seedlings" and "Friendship Forest" complex the foundation of which we laid in Jabrayil. This is also a symbol of our solidarity.

Dear media representatives, I believe that the fear and anxiety existing in some circles related to the Zangazur corridor, which will connect Nakhchivan with the western regions of Azerbaijan, are far from reality. That is, after all these steps related to Karabakh, such fear is inappropriate. Azerbaijan continues its journey with confident steps. Contributing to the cause of peace, tranquillity and stability, this road will open up trade and investment opportunities for all countries located along the East-West routes and the Middle Corridor that run through the Caspian Sea.

During the 44-day Patriotic War, Azerbaijan liberated its lands from occupation and regained its right, which had been violated for 30 years. Azerbaijan, which is taking sincere steps and putting forward positive proposals in negotiations with Armenia, stated that it sees its main goal as achieving lasting peace, prosperity and stability. I always say that there are no losers in the cause of peace. Our only goal is to build a prosperous future for the region.

The processes of normalisation of Azerbaijani-Armenian and Turkish-Armenian relations are advancing, supporting each other. It is necessary to use the window of opportunity that has opened correctly.

Dear media representatives, we are glad that 2023, when we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our republic, has been declared the "Year of Heydar Aliyev" in Azerbaijan. Together we will continue to keep in our hearts the bright memory of our national leader Heydar Aliyev.

Concluding with these words, on behalf of my people, I would like to express my special gratitude for the hospitality extended to me personally and my delegation.

I wish our unity to be eternal! Long live the Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood!