Erdogan sees hope in Ilham Aliyev

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he saw hope in the eyes of his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

The Turkish leader believes that a long-overdue peace awaits the South Caucasus.

"I saw that hope in the eyes of [Azerbaijani President] Ilham Aliyev during our meeting," Erdogan said.

He noted that the signing of a joint declaration in Washington accelerated the normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"They have largely overcome differences on their path toward peace and are at the final stages now," Erdogan said.

The Turkish head of state said he had a meaningful meeting with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev before he met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. According to him, Aliyev and Pashinyan are on the same page and are oriented in one direction.

"As soon as there is peace, ground-based and railroad routes in our region will be restored, and border crossings will be reopened, and this will positively affect many spheres, especially trade. Regional players, too, will obviously benefit from new opportunities for cooperation. In the future, Russia and Iran will understand, too, that their worries were groundless," Erdogan said.

The Turkish leader stressed that there were "no differences whatsoever over the Zangezur corridor."