Shusha Declaration on allied relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey | |
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Type | Cooperation treaty |
Context | Azerbaijan–Turkey relations, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict |
Signed | 15 June 2021 |
Location | Shusha, Azerbaijan |
Signatories |
The Shusha Declaration, officially the Shusha Declaration on allied relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey, [lower-alpha 1] is a declaration on allied relations signed between Azerbaijan and Turkey on 15 June 2021. [1]
A joint declaration on allied relations was signed in Shusha on 15 June 2021, between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of the latter’s official two-day visit to Azerbaijan. [2] [3]
The declaration touched various issues in the political, economic, trade, culture, education, sport, and energy security sectors, the Southern Gas Corridor, cooperation in the field of defense industry, military cooperation and mutual military assistance, the so-called "Zangezur corridor", possibilities of cooperation within the framework of the proposed six-party platform (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Georgia), and opening a Turkish consulate in Shusha. [4] [5] [6]
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaijanis until their expulsion during the 1990s. The Nagorno-Karabakh region was entirely claimed by and partially controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, but was recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan gradually re-established control over Nagorno-Karabakh region and the seven surrounding districts.
Relations have always been strong between Azerbaijan and Turkey, the only two predominantly Turkic countries located west of the Caspian Sea. Former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev often described the two as being "one nation, two states."
Colonel General Safar Akhundbala oghlu Abiyev was the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan from 1995 to 2013. He was considered one of the longest serving defense ministers in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Azerbaijan–Pakistan relations refer to bilaterial relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan has an embassy in Baku and Azerbaijan has an embassy in Islamabad. Both countries are enhancing contact between their respective capitals. The two nations are considered "strategic partners".
The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), formerly called the Turkic Council or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, is an intergovernmental organization comprising all but one of the internationally recognized Turkic sovereign states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan; while Hungary and Turkmenistan are observers. Its overarching aim is promoting comprehensive cooperation among the Turkic peoples. First proposed by Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2006, it was founded on 3 October 2009 in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan. The General Secretariat is located in Turkey's Istanbul.
Foreign relations exist between Azerbaijan and Serbia. Serbia has an embassy in Baku. Azerbaijan has an embassy in Belgrade. Both countries are members of United Nations, Council of Europe, Partnership for Peace, Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
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The Zurich Protocols refer to two bilateral protocols signed in 2009 by Armenia and Turkey that envisioned starting the process of normalizing relations between the two countries. The Protocols included provisions for the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, and the establishment of a joint historical commission on the Armenian genocide issue. The agreement, which later proved to be ineffectual, had been brokered by the United States, Russia and France.
Relations between Turkic Council and Azerbaijan started from the year of 2009 until present. Taking into account of the establishment date of the organization, Azerbaijan continues relations as a member of the founding country.
This article presents all the military parades held in Azerbaijan since the establishment of the first Azerbaijani nation in 1918. Currently, the semi-annual Day of the Armed Forces parade on 26 June is one of the biggest held in the former Soviet Union. All military parades consist of officers and personnel of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the State Security Service, the State Border Service, the National Guard and the Special State Protection Service.
The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involving Azerbaijan, Armenia and the self-declared Armenian breakaway state of Artsakh. The war lasted for 44 days and resulted in Azerbaijani victory, with the defeat igniting anti-government protests in Armenia. Post-war skirmishes continued in the region, including substantial clashes in 2022.
The Battle of Shusha was the final and decisive battle of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, fought between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, militarily supported by Armenia, over the control of the city of Shusha. The battle is considered one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
The Victory Day is a public holiday in Azerbaijan that is celebrated on 8 November, in commemoration of Azerbaijani victory in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Established by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan from 2 December 2020, the holiday is celebrated on the day of the recapture of Shusha. It is a non-working holiday.
2020 Baku Victory Parade was held on 10 December, in Azadliq Square, Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. It was held in honor of the Azerbaijani victory during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war, officially described as the Patriotic War in Azerbaijan. The parade was held with 3,000 military servicemen who distinguished themselves during the war marched alongside military equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft, as well as Armenian war trophies, and Turkish soldiers and officers, while navy vessels performed maneuvers in the nearby Bay of Baku, and jets and helicopters flew above the city. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a key ally of Azerbaijan in the war, also attended the military parade as part of a state visit to Baku.
The Victory Banner of Azerbaijan is the banner raised by the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces over the building of the Shusha City Executive Power on 8 November 2020, after a three-day-long battle over the city. The Victory Banner is the official symbol of the Victory of the Azerbaijani people against separatists during 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The Zangezur corridor is a concept for a transport corridor which, if implemented, would give Azerbaijan unimpeded access to Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic without Armenian checkpoints via Armenia's Syunik Province and, in a broad sense, for the geopolitical corridor that would connect Turkey to the rest of the Turkic world thereby "uniting it". The concept was not part of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement but was introduced to geopolitical lexicon later by Ilham Aliyev. It has since been promoted by Azerbaijan and Turkey, while Armenia has steadily objected to it, asserting that "corridor logic" deviates from the ceasefire statement, and that it is a form of propaganda.
The Khari Bulbul Music Festival is an international music festival held in Shusha and other cities of the Karabakh region. The festival was first held in 1989 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijani khananda Seyid Shushinski, and it was held annually until 1992, when the city was captured during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. The festival was reinstated in Shusha, the cultural capital of Azerbaijan, on 12 May 2022, when Azerbaijan regained control over the city during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The 2022 SCO summit was the 22nd annual summit of heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation held between 15 and 16 September 2022 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
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