The end of the Karabakh war allowed the South Caucasus to embark on the path to a full-fledged normal life in the region, but many tasks still have to be solved, and the main one is the preservation of peace, Turkish economic scientist Aydin Sezer told Vestnik Kavkaza, outlining Turkey's approach to contacts with Azerbaijan on the eve of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Baku.
"First of all, it is very important that the occupied territories of Azerbaijan were liberated. Turkey is very happy about this, since it marked the beginning of a new era in the South Caucasus," he said in the first place.
"In this new era, both Turkey and Azerbaijan will prioritize interaction with Russia, which has strengthened its presence in the region. If before Russia had a military base in Armenia, now its peacekeeping and humanitarian missions are in Azerbaijan. The Nagorno-Karabakh problem is not fully solved, although its scale has diminished, and cooperation with Russia in the current conditions is of particular importance," Aydin Sezer stressed.
"In this new reality, Turkey faces a very important task of helping to restore the entire region after the war. Although it is too early to talk about it, it will also include the resumption of economic relations between Turkey and Armenia. Turkish economic power will be essential in stabilizing the post-war South Caucasus. In general, the region's priority in the coming years should be peace, the inviolability of peace and guarantees of the impossibility of resuming the war," the expert urged.
"Again, this can only be done in contact with Russia. The second Karabakh war led to a very definite result for the balance of power in this region: now Turkey and Russia have a mutual understanding. Close relations of the Azerbaijani authorities with Russia, including personal contacts between President Ilham Aliyev and President Vladimir Putin contributed to the development of Turkish-Russian ties, opening up new opportunities for multilateral economic activity," Aydin Sezer said.
"There is no doubt that from now on Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey will act together in close cooperation with each other. Armenia must also be involved in this process in order to ensure permanent peace in the region and the inviolability of the Second Karabakh War's results, the indisputability of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. And we see from Ilham Aliyev's messages to the Armenian people that Armenia has been given a chance to return to peaceful coexistence and cooperation with its neighbors," he concluded.
