Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have hailed Baku’s military victory in Nagorno-Karabakh as thousands of ethnic Armenians flee from the breakaway region into Armenia.
Turkey’s Erdogan arrived in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave on Monday for talks with Aliyev to discuss Turkey-Azerbaijan ties and regional and global issues.
Nakhchivan is cut off from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenian territory but forms a slim border with Turkey.
At a joint news conference with Aliyev, Erdogan said Azerbaijan’s victory in Karabakh inspired pride.
“It is a matter of pride that the operation was successfully completed in a short period of time, with utmost sensitivity to the rights of civilians,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan and Aliyev signed a deal for a gas pipeline and the Turkish leader said “I’m very pleased to be with all of you as we connect Nakhchivan with the Turkish world.”
