Newsletters
Türkiye's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahceli said Wednesday that Türkiye will not allow "any seeds of discord” to harm its brotherhood with Azerbaijan, calling for common sense against any attempt to damage ties ahead of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) summit in Ankara.
"Our direction is clear: to deepen our cooperation on the basis of mutual respect for the sovereignty and independence of the Turkic republics, without allowing any seeds of discord to be sown among us that would damage the law of brotherhood and the bond of heart within the Turkic world, especially with Azerbaijan," Bahceli said in a written statement.
Bahceli, a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke as Türkiye prepares to take over the rotating chairmanship of the Organization of Turkic States from Azerbaijan at a summit in Ankara in the last week of October.
"From the Aegean to the Caspian, from the past to the future, Türkiye and Azerbaijan are two strong states of the same geography of the heart," Bahceli said.
"In the face of any approach aimed at damaging the law of brotherhood between the two countries, it is of great importance to act on the basis of common sense, mutual understanding and common wisdom," he added.
He said the two countries’ historical, cultural and fraternal ties are rooted "beyond political developments, in the common memory and bond of heart of our nations."
"We believe that the meeting at the summit between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Commander-in-Chief of the Karabakh Victory, and our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will once again demonstrate the unshakable will of Türkiye-Azerbaijan brotherhood," Bahceli said.
The nationalist leader stressed respect for the sovereignty of Turkic states.
"The basis of relations within the Organization of Turkic States is the principle of respect for each member state’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and domestic law. Each Turkic republic is an independent and sovereign state in its own right," he said.
"Cooperation among Turkic states is based on this understanding of sovereignty and develops on the basis of mutual respect, equality and common interests," he added.
Bahceli said the organization "has become the institutional ground of our common history, culture and shared vision of the future," with a new era taking shape "from the Adriatic to the Great Wall of China."
He urged ministries, universities, local governments and civil society to develop "concrete, lasting and results-oriented projects" in line with the organization’s 2040 Vision document, citing Crimean Tatar intellectual Ismail Gaspirali’s motto of "unity in language, thought and action."
"The potential of the Turkic world carries a meaning greater than the sum of our states’ current capabilities," Bahceli said.
"Türkiye’s term presidency should also be a period in which this understanding is turned into concrete results," he said, as Ankara and Baku prepare to meet at the summit.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
3 min read
