Turkey, under the rule of Recep Erdogan, is flexing its military muscles throughout the Central Asian region. The latest example is Turkey’s military support to the Islamic nation of Azerbaijan in its war against Christian Armenia in the ‘frozen conflict’ of the former Soviet Union, the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Turkey and Azerbaijan recently announced further military cooperation.
Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov and Turkish Deputy Defense Minister Yunus Emre Karaosmanoglu have discussed military-technical cooperation between both states and the activity of the joint Russian-Turkish monitoring center of the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry’s press service informed, reported Russian state news agency TASS.
“Zakir Hasanov stressed that military cooperation between both states based on friendly and brotherly relations is developing and becoming stronger successfully. The sides have pointed out the need to increase efforts in this direction, namely in the sphere of military-technical cooperation and holding joint drills,” the statement reads.
The Turkish deputy defense minister came to Azerbaijan to take part in launching the Russian-Turkish joint monitoring center, which began its work on January 30, 2021.
Russian troops have been inserted into the region as peacekeepers, conducting joint patrols with Turkish forces.
