BAKU (A.A) – 07.06.2002 – National Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said on Tuesday that Turkey-Azerbaijan relations were set up as the ''relations between the two states of the great Turkish nation'' and that they followed policy within this framework.
Releasing a statement, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry recalled that Cakmakoglu visited Azerbaijani Defense Minister Sefer Abiyev.
Speaking at the meeting, Cakmakoglu said, ''in order to secure peace, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces should have power to fight and succeed to be victorious. Military cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan will continue to further develop in every aspect.''
Stressing that the Azerbaijani people always stood by Turkey in fight against the terrorist PKK organization, Cakmakoglu said, ''so far, we have done everything for Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan has done everything for us. This will be the same in the future.''
Stressing that Armenia occupied one-fifth of the Azerbaijani territories, Cakmakoglu said that persons who had betrayed the state during the World War I had been sent to another place of the state but Armenians claimed that it was ''genocide''.
''We do not want leaving of even very few Azerbaijani soil to Armenia. We will accept and support the decision of Azerbaijan on solution to this problem,'' he said.
Meanwhile, Abiyev said that relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan were developing also in the military field, adding that Turkey had been supporting their rightful case also in international platforms since Azerbaijan had been attacked.
Stressing that historical and cultural heritage and monuments of the Azerbaijani people had been destroyed in the places occupied by Armenia, Abiyev said that those places became the center of terror and illicit drugs.
Abiyev said that the Armenian side had sent a plenty of weapons and ammunitions to PKK terrorists through the uncontrolled places.
Stressing that they were in favor of solution of the problem through peaceful methods and they wanted Armenian soldiers to withdraw from their territories immediately and unconditionally, Abiyev said that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces was ready to destroy terror centers in occupied territories and to save Azerbaijani territories.