Azerbaijan

The name of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) has been changed to the Organization of Turkic States, according to a joint declaration of the Council's 8th Summit in Istanbul.

Those who remained silent on the three-decade occupation of Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region are responsible for the tragedies and the bloodshed that took place there, said Turkey's president on Nov. 8.

Turkey on Nov. 8 marked the anniversary of Azerbaijan's victory in Karabakh, expressing everlasting solidarity with the brotherly country.

"We are celebrating the victory of Azerbaijan's 44-day Patriotic War, which was crowned by liberation of the cultural capital of ancient Shusha on November 8 last year," said a Foreign Ministry statement.

The main objective for Turkey and Azerbaijan is the continuity of a cease-fire and to bring stability to the region, Turkish defense chief Hulusi Akar said on Nov. 5 at a reception at the Azerbaijan Embassy in Ankara for Victory Day.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will head to Azerbaijan on Oct. 26, his third visit since the liberation of the Karabakh region last November.

Erdoğan will meet his counterpart Ilham Aliyev and attend the inauguration of the Fuzuli International Airport.

Azerbaijan emerged victorious from the latest round of fighting over the disputed region last November last year - but ruined towns and destroyed infrastructure hint at the challenges to come.

Rumors of a breakthrough in Turkish-Armenian relations have no basis in fact. Turkey and Armenia cannot undertake a normalization of their relations without including Azerbaijan. Stability and security in the South Caucasus require a three-way dialogue between Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan and for Armenia to give up its fantasies of a Greater Armenia.

Joint military drills between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan started in Baku on Sept. 12, the first such drills between the three countries.

The "Three Brothers - 2021" exercises kicked off with a solemn opening ceremony. While national anthems of the participating countries were played and their flags raised, a minute of silence was also observed to commemorate their "martyrs".

Turkey's trade minister on Sept. 10 pledged to further develop business relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

"Trade relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan are very good. We want to develop this further," Mehmet Muş, who is in Azerbaijan's capital Baku to attend Turkic Council's 10th meeting of ministers in charge of the economy, told reporters.

Turkey and Azerbaijan on Sept. 6 launched a joint military drill in Azerbaijan's Lachin region that was liberated from Armenian occupation last year, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

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The joint exercise is being held under the Agreement on Military Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the ministry said in a statement.