Day: June 20, 2023

Days after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reelected on May 28, he travelled to Azerbaijan as part of its first foreign trip after taking the office.

There he held talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart on matters of mutual interest.

But perhaps most importantly, the two leaders emphasized on their commitment to complete the work on Zangezur Corridor - a network of road and railway that connects various countries in the region and realigns relations that have been fraught with years of war and mistrust.

“It’s a peace corridor. It can stimulate economic cooperation among Armenia and Azerbaijan and Türkiye,” says Matthew Bryza, the former US ambassador to Azerbaijan.

Basically the corridor connects Azerbaijan with its landlocked exclave of Nakhchivan autonomous region. Geographically, Nakhchivan is cut off from mainland Azerbaijan by Armenian territory.

Before a recent rapprochement, the two neighbours - Armenia and Azerbaijan - had been at each other’s throats. They have fought bloody wars over border territories as recently as 2020 over the Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

The corridor allows goods and people to travel back and forth between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan via Armenia’s Syunik province.

Here’s what you need to know about the corridor:

A quick look into Zangezur’s history

Zangezur is a region that was historically a part of Azerbaijan. But in the 1920s, the then Soviet Union made it part of Armenia.

This deprived Azerbaijan from its only direct land link to Nakhchivan. For years afterwards, Azerbaijani who wanted to travel between the mainland and the autonomous region had to first neighbouring Iran.

A proposal for the corridor remained on the drawing board for years. But it finally began to become a reality after the end of the Second Karabakh War in 2020.

A trilateral ceasefire agreement between Armenia, Azerbaijan and regional powerhouse - Russia - allowed for opening up for railway and road routes, which will cross Armenia.

The Turkic connection

One of the most important aspects of the corridor, which is under various phases of construction, is its link to Türkiye.

The railway runs from Azerbaijani capital Baku, then crosses Armenia while hugging its border with Iran and ends in Kars in Türkiye.

“It is not only a means of opening up transport opportunities between Nakhchivan and the rest of Azerbaijan but also an opportunity to connect the Caspian and Mediterranean basins and Southeast and Central Asia with Europe,” says Ayhan Satiji, Acting Head of Turkic World Research Center, at the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications of the Republic of Azerbaijan (CAERC).

Azerbaijan and Türkiye, which share the common Turkic roots, see the corridor as a way to link up with other Turkic states including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

But its benefit could be far-reaching.

“The mega projects by Azerbaijan, Türkiye, do not only serve the interests of overall Turkic world countries, but it could be concluded as a win-win situation for the region,” Satiji tells TRT World.

A boost to Türkiye-Azerbaijani ties

The corridor will go a long way in strengthening the economic and diplomatic ties of Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

The two close allies signed the Shusha Declaration in 2021, which aligns their foreign policy stance on important international matters.

The declaration also touches on the importance of the Zangezur corridor.

“The recent Shusha Declaration represents an alliance agreement that reinforces the bond between these two brotherly countries. The development of the Zangezur corridor is the continuation of the steps toward the realization of the strategic ties,” says Satiji.

Why is Iran against the corridor?

One country which is not happy about the corridor is Iran, which maintains close defence ties with Armenia.

Evidently, Tehran is wary of losing influence as Azerbaijanis would no longer need to commute via the Iranian territory to reach Nakhchivan.

In recent comments, Erdogan specifically pointed out that it wasn’t Armenia which had any issue with the corridor but Iran.

“Regarding the Zangezur Corridor, this is not an Armenian issue. The Zangezur Corridor is an issue with Iran,” Erdogan said on his way back to Türkiye after the Azerbaijan visit.

“I hope that we are able to resolve this issue quickly. If they had taken a positive stance on this, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Iran would have been integrated via land and sea routes, and perhaps the Beijing-London route would have been opened.”

Source: TRTworld.com

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given messages to the world on the occasion of World Refugee Day, highlighting Türkiye's approach will always be "protecting human life and dignity together with the security of the country."

"Türkiye, which always fulfills its duty of humanity and neighborliness, is working to facilitate the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of refugees to their homeland, a necessary step to take," he said.

"People in different parts of the world, including the geography our country is in, are forced to migrate due to reasons such as terrorism, conflict, civil war, hunger, and famine."

The Turkish president emphasised that his nation has stood by those fleeing persecution without any discrimination for centuries.

"Our approach to the issue of irregular migration and refugees, which constitutes a global challenge, is to protect human life and dignity together with the security of our country. Our nation, which has been taking care of those fleeing from persecution without making any distinction for centuries, has once again demonstrated the same conscientious stance in the face of crises in our region, from Syria to Ukraine," Erdogan said.

The president underscored his country's approach to irregular migration and refugees as a global challenge.

"We reject hate speech against refugees, the spread of Neo-Nazi ideology, and Islamophobia and xenophobia, which take root in Western countries and then spread to other societies like a poisonous vine. We consider these pathological trends that do not consider anyone who is different in terms of race, culture, or belief as a threat to humanitarian values and the common future of humanity."

'We call on all parties to make more efforts'

Highlighting the impact of a colonial mindset, President Erdogan pointed out the Mediterranean's transformation into a massive graveyard for refugees in recent years.

"The arrogant mindset with roots going back to colonialism has had a significant impact on the Mediterranean, which has been the cradle of civilisations throughout history, turning into a massive graveyard for refugees in recent years."

"The humanitarian tragedy that occurred last week in the Aegean Sea, where hundreds of innocent people, most of them children, lost their lives in plain sight, is the most recent and shameful example of this."

He emphasised the significance of the Global Compact on Refugees, adopted in December 2018 with Türkiye's active contributions, in resolving the refugee issue. He called on all relevant parties to redouble their efforts in implementing the Compact and fulfilling their obligations.

"The international community, especially countries that lecture others about human rights and democracy, must now assume responsibility. The refugee issue can be resolved by eliminating the root causes of migration and forced displacement. The success and implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees are crucial in this regard," the president said.

"We call on all relevant parties to make more efforts in both the implementation of the Compact and compliance with the obligations."

President Erdogan concluded his message by expressing hope that World Refugee Day would contribute to resolving the challenges faced by refugees worldwide.

"With these observations and wishes, I hope that World Refugee Day will contribute to creating global awareness, preventing new tragedies, and solving the problems of all refugees struggling for survival in different corners of the world."

Source: TRTworld.com

TRT World's Forum brings global academics, journalists and politicians in Istanbul, to grapple with challenges, advancing peace and security around the world. But a new spin off edition of special youth designated events called NEXT Forum has just opened with the aim of gathering young professionals from media, NGOs and entrepreneurs. Claire Herriot reports.

Source: TRTworld.com

Turkish media reported on June 19 that the dismembered bodies of four Turkmen nationals had been found over the weekend in a home refrigerator in Turkey's western city of Izmir. Three of the victims were identified as Gulkamar Hanymova, and her two daughters -- Leyla and Lachin -- who had rented the apartment for a long time. The fourth body was identified as that of a Turkmen man, but his identity was not made public. Turkish police said a Turkmen citizen was detained on suspicion of involvement in the incident, which shocked residents of Izmir's Bayrakli district on June 18.

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