Azerbaijan’s independent policy must be respected, MP says

“Azerbaijan-Türkiye relations are of a special nature, founded on historic brotherhood, shared national and spiritual values, strategic partnership and alliance. Recent public and media debates over certain issues should be viewed in light of the strategic scope of these relations.”

Milli Majlis (National Assembly) MP Aydin Huseynov made the remarks to "Operativ Məlumat Mərkəzi-OMM", Operative Information Center-OMM reports.

The MP said that differing approaches to individual issues between two allied states were not unusual in themselves:

“A strategic alliance does not mean holding the same position on every issue. Azerbaijan and Türkiye are independent, sovereign states, and each makes decisions in line with its constitutional order, domestic social and political realities, and national interests. The strength of the relationship should be reflected in managing differences through mutual respect and political dialogue. In this regard, turning sensitive matters of a domestic nature into emotional debates in the media and on social networks is not appropriate. Such issues should be discussed through interstate institutional mechanisms, diplomatic channels and direct political contacts. The meeting between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Türkiye in recent days to discuss the current state of relations also demonstrates the importance of direct dialogue.”

Aydin Huseynov stressed that the concept of “One nation, two states” expresses both historic and spiritual closeness and the existence of two sovereign states:

“Both elements are equally important. Brotherhood creates mutual trust, while state sovereignty ensures each side’s right to determine its domestic and foreign policy independently. Just as Azerbaijan respects Türkiye’s right to make its own domestic decisions, it is natural to expect the same approach toward Azerbaijan.

The MP said the priority at this stage was to prevent the current debate from adversely affecting the strategic agenda of bilateral relations:

“Azerbaijan and Türkiye are bound by important strategic interests, including energy security, defense, transport and logistics, the Middle Corridor, regional peace, the Organization of Turkic States and broad economic cooperation. It serves neither Azerbaijan’s nor Türkiye’s interests to let individual disputes hold relations of this scale hostage. I believe both political circles and the media should choose their words more responsibly. Rather than deepening mutual accusations, direct dialogue, fact-based communication and institutional contacts should be strengthened.

Overall, the strategic foundation of Azerbaijan-Türkiye relations is sufficiently strong. The key condition for their further development is to complement the emotion of brotherhood with the legal and political principles governing relations between states: sovereignty, mutual respect, equality and open dialogue.”