President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar and Director of National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan.
10 November 2020, 21:00
Welcoming the guests, President Ilham Aliyev said:
- Dear friends, dear guests, this is my first meeting after the victory and, of course, it is a meeting with my brothers. This morning, my dear brother, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and I had a telephone conversation and congratulated each other on this great victory. At the same time, we exchanged views on our future work. On behalf of myself and all the people of Azerbaijan, I once again express my deep gratitude to my dear brother and all the people of Turkey for this support and solidarity. For all these 44 days, we have always felt the support of brotherly Turkey – all the people of Azerbaijan have. The broadcasts of Turkish television channels after the statement was signed yesterday were very heartwarming. Our Turkish brothers rejoiced in this victory as in their own. This is the case. This is our joint victory; it is a confirmation of Turkey-Azerbaijan unity. Today, this unity is perhaps at the highest level in history. For all these days, Turkish officials, parliament members, ministers, public activists, media representatives, the general public and all our brothers have been very supportive of us. It gave us extra strength and increased our enthusiasm. Today, of course, we are delighted that 30 years later, we have finally liberated our ancestral lands from occupation.
Today, during a conversation with my dear brother, we also exchanged views on the Turkey-Russia Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Center's activities. I think this is a significant step. It is a new format of cooperation in the region. We have always wanted Turkey and Russia to play an equal role in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and we have achieved this. We will talk about this center's future activities with you and our Russian colleagues to establish this center as soon as possible since there is already a timetable for the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from our lands. By the end of this month, they must withdraw from all our lands that are still under occupation. Therefore, the establishment of this center in a short period is of great benefit. Welcome, welcome home.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said:
- Thank you very much, Mr. President. We are also happy to be at home again. Thank you for receiving us.
You had a telephone conversation with your brother, our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, today. But before we boarded the plane, he called me again and told me to convey his greetings and congratulations to you.
We once again congratulate you on your victory – your victory is ours – on this great victory. As the Commander-in-Chief, Azerbaijan's heroic Army, under your leadership, has demonstrated to friends and enemies what it is capable of, but it has also shown the strength of the Turks.
Under your leadership, brotherly Azerbaijan has demonstrated its presence on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. Despite your victories on the battlefield, you have shown outstanding leadership in resolving this conflict peacefully and through a ceasefire. Unfortunately, Armenia did not use these opportunities. I hope they will learn this time. Along with the victories on the battlefield, other lands of Azerbaijan will be returned to brotherly Azerbaijan under a short-term timetable, Inshallah.
We are proud of your successes both on the battlefield and in diplomacy. Under our esteemed President, Turkey has always said that we are with Azerbaijan on the battlefield and at the table.
In the subsequent process, as you said, we will discuss and evaluate the steps we will take, including establishing a joint monitoring center.
We will do the necessary work together with our colleagues per your instructions and tasks. For this purpose, we have come to meet with you today and receive your instructions.
Congratulations again! We turned on the TV this morning, and people were on the streets in Azerbaijan. Our people in Turkey experienced the same joy. So thank you.
