On 10 December, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev offered a new regional cooperation that would involve six countries in the South Caucasus region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Russia and Turkey) following their press conference after the “Victory Parade” in Baku (Caucasus Watch reported).

“There is traditional cooperation involving Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. At the same time, there is cooperation involving Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran. There is cooperation involving Turkey, Russia and Iran. In other words, we can encapsulate all these cooperation platforms and come up with a single platform. If the Armenian leadership draws the right conclusions from the war, renounces its unfounded claims and looks ahead, then they can also take a place on this platform. We are open to this,” stated Ailyev.

“We must turn this page over; we must end the enmity. We did not start this. We simply waited for support from international organisations for 30 years, waited for support from three Minsk Group co-chairs. We waited for the UN Security Council resolutions adopted to be implemented. But that didn't happen. The neither-war-nor-peace situation simply continued, the status quo continued. We changed this status quo by military means, expelled the enemy from our lands, dealt them a tangible blow, destroyed their army and their main ideological pillars. But what did we do after that? After that, we said that we were ready to cooperate. By creating a new format of cooperation, we can reduce the future risk of war in the region to zero,” Aliyev added.

Similar ideas were voiced by Erdogan who said he attaches great importance to the six-sided cooperation platform. “What is a six-sided platform? Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, and Armenia – if it accepts and corresponds to it – then it can also get a place on this platform. So, there are plans to build a regional peace through a six-party platform. Of course, there are tasks that regional peace sets before countries of the region. This includes infrastructure, political, diplomatic and many other issues,” Erdogan said. “In case of creation of new opportunities, Armenia will obviously benefit largely. Armenia will be the one to… utmost benefit,” he added.

Erdogan emphasised that he has no personal issues with the Armenian people. “We do not want to close the doors to Armenia either because we want to become doves of peace, to take peaceful steps. Moreover, we have no problems with the Armenian people. Our problem is with the Armenian government. There are over one hundred thousand Armenians in my country. Among them, there are those who have received our citizenship and those who did not. But we treat them as guests in our country. Why? Because we have no dislike for people. The goal is, in particular, the formation and strengthening of this peace. We must take our actions in accordance with this,” he added.  

It was also revealed which bilateral documents were signed between Aliyev and Erdogan before the “Victory Parade” in Baku took place. In total five documents were signed: 1) the Protocol of Understanding between Baku Transport Agency and BMC Automotive Industry and Trade company; 2) the Protocol of Understanding between Azerbaijan Highway State Agency and BMC.AZ company; 3) the Memorandum of Understanding between the Small and Medium Business Development Agency of Azerbaijan and the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey; 4) the Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey in the Field of Media; and 5) the Protocol No. 1 between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Turkey on Amendments to the Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Turkey.

The head of the Armenian parliament committee on economic issues Babken Tunyan also commented on the Aliyev-Erdogan proposal. “I would like to remind you that Armenia has been a member of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization for many years, comprising 12 countries, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia and other countries. Armenia should give priority to its interests. If participation in any platform corresponds to these interests, then it should participate, if not, then it should not,” he said.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova also spoke about a possible dialogue between Baku and Yerevan. She noted that with all the heterogeneity of the region and all the deep contradictions between the neighbours, it is necessary to look for ways to combine the interests of the parties. “In our opinion, we should rely on the implementation of various mutually beneficial options for the synergy of trade, transport and energy opportunities of the region. And, of course, there is no doubt that the agenda should… build up and tighten contacts between businessmen, scientists and representatives of civil society. One of the possible options of interaction is mutual trips of journalists. By the way, the experience of recent years is also available. I think this is the right step towards sustainable peace between the peoples of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” she added. 

Zakharova also commented on the anticipated unblocking of transport communications in the region and the construction of transport links between Azerbaijan and its enclave Nakhichevan. “As you understand, the unblocking of economic ties, construction of new communications is a long process, involving many specialised structures, and the main issues will be resolved by the authorities of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which, as far as we know, have formed special mechanisms to respond to emerging problems during the post-conflict phase,” she said. According to Zakharova, the most promising direction today is the restoration of railway communication. Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev’s statement that the presidents of the Russian Federation and Turkey reacted positively to the idea of creating a corridor connecting Nakhichevan with the western regions of Azerbaijan.