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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday that the relationship between Türkiye and Azerbaijan rests on firm strategic foundations and should not be worn down by disagreements, as he also pressed for a stronger Asian security forum, a Palestinian state and safer shipping in the Black Sea.
Fidan spoke to reporters in the Azerbaijani capital, where he was attending the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, known as CICA. He represented President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the gathering.
Fidan said the principle of “two states, one nation” shows itself in every field of the relationship.
“There is an unshakable bond of friendship and brotherhood between our leaders,” he said.
“It is a bond that has been tested in very difficult times, in times of war and crisis.”
He acknowledged that the two countries may at times take different approaches to certain issues, but said such differences should not be exploited to damage their strategic ties.
They can be discussed in keeping with what he called the law of brotherhood, he said, and need not be turned into a propaganda tool on social media.
“We are an ancient nation,” Fidan said, adding that Türkiye and Azerbaijan would sit down and talk through their problems in a civilized way befitting that history.
Fidan said Turkish and Azerbaijani public opinion has increasingly merged, with social media and wider communication channels allowing the two societies to influence each other.
He described intense interaction in cultural, political, social and financial spheres. He said the leaderships of both countries are attentive to the matter and that Erdogan had given him instructions before the Baku visit.
He said he also discussed the issue with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, listened to Aliyev’s views and expects the bond between the two leaders to endure.
Efforts are under way on both sides, he said, to keep the matter from being exploited and to prevent new obstacles from arising between the two countries.
Turning to the Russia-Ukraine war, Fidan said Türkiye’s position is that the fighting should stop.
Because the war has not been halted entirely, he said, Ankara is working to at least keep the Black Sea out of it.
Fidan said he discussed the issue with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and heard the Russian side’s views.
Türkiye has also conveyed a proposal it prepared to both Ukraine and Russia, he said, and is listening to their positions while working on how to resolve the problem more constructively.
Safe navigation in the Black Sea is extremely important, Fidan said, because conditions there directly affect global food markets. He pointed to risks to wheat trade bound for African countries and to rising food and energy prices.
He said restrictions on Black Sea trade come at a time when the Strait of Hormuz is closed and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait faces occasional restrictions, leaving the world economy, and developing countries in particular, in a harder position.
In his address to the summit, Fidan voiced support for extending Azerbaijan’s term as chair and welcomed Laos as the forum’s 29th member.
He also congratulated Sultan Hajiyev on his appointment as the new secretary general.
CICA is a multilateral forum for security dialogue among Asian states.
Fidan said a stronger CICA is essential to securing peace and prosperity in an era marked by Asia’s rise, and that Türkiye is determined to strengthen it as the continent’s most inclusive security forum.
He said the organization should expand transport links and diversify energy corridors to improve economic security.
Fidan outlined four priorities.
The first is the Middle Corridor, an east-west route across the Caspian Sea, which he said would significantly raise the effectiveness of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and build new bridges between peoples.
The second is the Development Road Project, which he said would link the Gulf to Europe through Iraq and Türkiye and support stability and prosperity in the region and beyond.
The third is greater synergy among Asia’s regional cooperation mechanisms.
Fidan said better coordination among CICA, the Organization of Turkic States, the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization would improve connectivity across the continent.
The fourth extends connectivity to the digital realm, where he called for deeper cooperation in science, technology and innovation so that artificial intelligence and other new technologies benefit people everywhere.
Artificial intelligence, he said, should be a basis for inclusive cooperation, not conflict or monopolization.
Fidan said the biggest obstacle to multilateral action is a lack of trust among international actors.
The answer, he said, is a culture of dialogue built on regional ownership.
“We believe CICA can play an important role in turning dialogue into effective cooperation,” he said, adding that Türkiye supports its transformation into a full-fledged international organization.
He also tied sustainable development to climate action.
Fidan noted that Türkiye will host and preside over the COP31 climate summit in Antalya in November, and said Ankara wants the meeting to advance climate justice, sustainable development and human-centered transformation.
He called on all stakeholders to take part at a high level in the leaders’ summit.
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Fidan said commitment to peace and mutual trust must apply to every member of the forum.
“We cannot sustain this commitment while Israel, a CICA member, violates the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people through a policy of systematic oppression,” he said.
He urged members to take a firm stance in support of the rights of Palestine, also a CICA member, and against what he described as continuing persecution and grave violations.
“A lasting solution requires the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” he said.
Fidan described CICA as a valuable platform for bridging differing priorities and deepening mutual understanding.
He said the summit should set out a clear road map for a more effective CICA and that Türkiye will keep working to advance those goals.
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