Karabakh in Turkey- Azerbaijan relations

Abstract

During the Soviet Union period, Azerbaijan had many economic, social and political problems. However, during this period, ethnic tensions within the country were suppressed... Some of these tensions, which were defrosted by Gorbachev's softening policies, turned into conflicts. One of the conflicts that increased with the collapse of the Soviet Union was the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Turkey first argued that the problem was the internal affairs of the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the increase of Armenian aggression, Turkey changed her behavior and started to follow policies close to Azerbaijan. In this context, Turkey has tried to announce the Armenian occupation to the international community, to mediate between the parties, and to find a solution to the problem through international organizations. It also supported Azerbaijan economically and closed the border with Armenia. Despite all the military intervention expectations of both Azerbaijani and Turkish public opinion, there was no direct military initiative other than helping the re-establishment of the Azerbaijani army. Turkey continued to find out a peaceful solution with the ceasefire declaration of the parties. After the ceasefiredestroying activities of Armenia, it has stood by Azerbaijan politically, economically and militarily in the conflicts that started in 2020, and has become an actor that determines the fate of the war with the UAVs and combat drones.