The presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey met on the sidelines of the 9th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Samarkand yesterday and discussed the current situation in the South Caucasus and the results of the tripartite talks between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Sochi on October 31.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, according to a statement released by his office, told delegates attending the summit that his government continues to invest huge resources to reconstruct infrastructure in “liberated Karabakh” and that Turkish companies are involved in the work.

Aliyev thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom he called “my dear brother”, for visiting Karabakh three times since the end of the 2020 war and invited the heads of other Turkic states to do the same.

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS), founded in 2009, is comprised of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan.

Aliyev thanked the presidents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan for funding the building of a school in Fizuli (Varanda).

Aliyev denied Armenian claims of Azerbaijani aggression and accused Armenia of continuing military provocations along the border.

“In the latest one, in September, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan had to launch a resolute counter-offensive operation to repel yet another military provocation by Armenia,” Aliyev said, referring to fighting that broke out along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on September 13.

Aliyev said that Armenia and Azerbaijan have officially recognized each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by joint statements adopted in Prague and Sochi.

“This once again demonstrates that the Karabakh conflict is history,” Aliyev said.

He said the results of the 2020 Karabakh war have created new economic opportunities in the region and that Baku remains committed to opening a corridor between Azerbaijan proper and its Nakhijevan district.