Azerbaijani official: Baku pushes for reconciliation between Russia and Turkey
The Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan on Socio-Political Affairs, Ali Hasanov, said that Baku makes every effort to push for reconciliation between Russia and Turkey, as stated on TV channel ANS as well as on Minval.az on Monday, March 21st.
"We are trying to reconcile the relationship between Turkey and Russia, so that these countries will find their common interests and build the relationship, looking to the future, not looking back at the past," he said.
Hasanov stressed that due to the deterioration of the relationship between Moscow and Ankara, Azerbaijan has been put in a difficult situation. "As you know, we have strategic partnerships with both of these states. Therefore, we do not want the relationship between our two strategic allies and partners to deteriorate."
In November of 2015, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, at a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said that Azerbaijan is ready to mediate the conflict between Russia and Turkey. "Azerbaijan is ready to contribute to the reduction and elimination of tensions in Russian-Turkish relations," Aliyev said.
He stated that his country had close historical ties with both Russia and Turkey and that "the raised tension in the relationship between the countries has caused regret and concern."
The Russian-Turkish relationship deteriorated sharply after a Russian Su-24 bomber was shot down over the Turkish-Syrian border by a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter. One of the pilots was killed by ground fire after bailout. In addition, as a result of the attack, a Russian marine was killed in a helicopter sent to search for the crew. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the destruction of the Russian plane a "stab in the back from supporters of terrorists."