Baku offers Ankara help against Kurds, wants support on Karabakh?

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani MP Faraj Guliyev, who is also the chairman of the country's National Revival Movement, has said that Azerbaijan should join forces with Turkey to fight against terrorism, Today’s Zaman reported.

“The Azerbaijani military should team up with Turkish troops to fight terrorism,” Guliyev said in a talk with the Turkish state-owned Anatolia news agency.

Commenting on bilateral relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan as well as political and military developments, Guliyev said it is time for Turkish-Azerbaijani ties, or even relations across the Turkic world, to move from the economic and cultural spheres into the areas of politics and the military.

"Azerbaijan and Turkey are already cooperating militarily, as the Turkish Armed Forces support the modernization, organizational structure and military education of the Azerbaijani army under NATO standardization. If that is the case, then why shouldn't we establish a military union and fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK]? Turkish troops have enough power in this struggle, but our involvement would solidify our partnership. If a war breaks out in Nagorno Karabakh, Turkish soldiers might be involved on Azeri side. We can later develop this union into a military bloc,” Guliyev said.

Guliyev also noted that Azerbaijan can come up with a common Eurasia bloc together with Turkey and other Turkic states in the areas of politics, economy and military, adding that the Turkic states should be urged to make solid steps in the military sphere.

According to Guliyev, military cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan has advanced since 2007. “However, this collaboration should be transformed, legally and boldly, into a joint military unit encompassing all areas,” he said.