Baku, June 16, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan, has visited the Milli Majlis.

According to AZERTAC, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova welcomed the distinguished guest.

They had a one-on-one meeting first.

Following the one-on-one meeting, President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the parliament.

Speech of President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan

- Dear Speaker of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan,

Dear MPs, ladies and gentlemen!

On behalf of your 84 million brothers in Turkey, I am greeting you with love and joy - all members of the parliament of the victorious country - with the phrase “We are one nation, two states.” I am happy because I am in my native Azerbaijan. I am happy because I am with you in the Milli Majlis of fraternal Azerbaijan, which has liberated Karabakh. I am happy because I am in Azerbaijan, which is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its independence. The liberation of Karabakh is the most significant event in the history of Azerbaijan in 30 years of independence.

This Victory has healed the bleeding wound in the Caucasus and created a great opportunity for the establishment of sustainable peace and stability in the region. Not only Azerbaijan will benefit from peace and stability in the Caucasus, but also all countries of the region, including Armenia and the whole world. We, in turn, together with our Azerbaijani brothers, are ready to make every effort to fulfill the tasks entrusted to us for the comprehensive development and well-being of the region and strengthening stability in it.

It is clearly visible who won and who lost during the crisis period that reigned in Karabakh over the past 30 years. Only people living in Karabakh experienced suffering, they shed blood, they experienced bitterness, they suffered material and moral losses. For 30 years, they went through hard times. Unfortunately, my Azerbaijani brothers left their native lands and remained internally displaced for 30 years. These lands were under occupation. After 30 years, glory to Allah, these lands have returned to their true owners.

Those who observed the unresolved nature of the conflict in Karabakh, which continued for 30 years, or, to put it more precisely, sought to continue the conflict were always on the side of the winner. We believe that the path leading to sustainable peace depends on the development of cooperation between all peoples and states in the region on the basis of mutual trust.

I once again congratulate the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Azerbaijani Army and the President of Azerbaijan, my esteemed brother Ilham Aliyev, who, having demonstrated great leadership, presented this Victory and this peace to Azerbaijan. I congratulate the people of Azerbaijan, who, in the name of the Victory in Karabakh, rallied into a single fist around their leader, demonstrated national unity and equality at the highest possible level. I congratulate the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, which heroically fought in the name of the Motherland, for Karabakh, for the freedom of Karabakh. May Allah grant peace to the souls of all our martyrs. I express my condolences to their loved ones.

During the sacred Patriotic war, Turkey, as a state and as a nation, was next to Azerbaijan with all its heart. Today, we are close to Azerbaijan with all our capabilities. Let the whole world know that we, Inshallah, will be by your side tomorrow as well. We will be together today and forever, just like the author of the words of the national anthem of Azerbaijan, Ahmad Javad, fought in the ranks of the Ottoman army together with Azerbaijani youth during the Balkan War, just like heroes from Azerbaijan fought together with Anatolian fighters in Canakkale and ascended the peak of martyrdom together, just like the heroes of the Caucasian Islamic Army and soldiers of Nuru Pasha came to the aid of their Azerbaijani brothers. The joy of Azerbaijan is our joy, its freedom is our freedom, its fate is our fate, and its sorrow is ours too.

My dear brothers, during the times when Nuru Pasha arrived in the Caucasus, the Armenians killed more than 12,000 Turks, Muslims. A massacre, which is inscribed in the black pages of our history, was perpetrated in the Caucasus. Those who slander the Turkic nation in every possible way should first look at what happened in the Caucasus, in Azerbaijan. And not only at the events that took place a hundred years ago, but also at the bloodshed that took place in Karabakh, in Khojaly 30 years ago. And then, if their conscience permits, we will sit down and discuss all the accusations leveled against us. However, their eyes do not see and their ears do not hear all this. Their hearts have not felt anything for a long time. They are not able to see those who, over the 30 years of occupation of Karabakh, destroyed and ravaged the occupied Azerbaijani lands and, when leaving, set everything on fire. They mobilized their efforts to create obstacles in the struggle for freedom. Let them come and see Fuzuli today. Everything around is destroyed, burned and devastated. Let them come and see Karabakh now. Everything is obvious. We saw it all on our way yesterday. We saw what have they turned these places into. They blew up and burned everything. They came as occupiers and left as barbarians.

This behavior alone is enough to prove whose homeland Karabakh is. When the Azerbaijanis had to leave Karabakh 30 years ago, they did not destroy anything. They did not burn a single home because no-one can destroy and burn their homeland. However, Karabakh is not their homeland and therefore they left it having destroyed and burned everything around them. Today Azerbaijan is restoring the villages and towns that they have destroyed and burned and, Inshallah, together we will restore and build a new Karabakh.

My brothers, those who want to see the difference between culture and vandalism should come to Karabakh and see the difference. Along with being one of the most beautiful regions in the world from a geographical point of view, Karabakh is also rich with its culture. Inshallah, this will continue to be the case in the future too. Turkey, Inshallah, will be next to brotherly Azerbaijan in this process.

Dear brothers, together with my brother Ilham Aliyev and our delegation, we were in Shusha yesterday and experienced the joy of seeing the proudly waving flag of Azerbaijan on the free Karabakh land. Ever since it was founded by Panahali Khan of Karabakh, Shusha has been a natural Academy of Arts, a city where music, literature and art developed and flourished at the highest level. Starting from the times of the vizier of Panahali Khan, Molla Panah Vagif, whose poems are still studied with great love, Shusha has been able to preserve itself as a center of culture. Shusha, like an eagle's nest located on the rocks and stretching towards the sky, has always been conducive to the creation of works of art, literature and culture. This city is the birthplace of genius composer Uzeyir Hajibayli, Bulbul, Khurshidbanu Natavan, Rashid Behbudov and many other artists and poets. Shusha, which gave birth to such thinkers as Ahmad bey Aghaoglu who is known not only in Azerbaijan and Turkey but also throughout the Turkic world, is being restored today.

From this point of view, the declaration of Shusha as the cultural capital of Azerbaijan and the holding of the “Kharibulbul” music festival on the Jidir Duzu plain is a message to the whole world. I am very glad to hear that preparations are under way for the Vagif poetry festival. We will be happy to declare Shusha, which has been declared the cultural capital of Azerbaijan this year, the cultural capital of the entire Turkic world next year. Figures of culture and art from all over the Turkic world will gather in this beautiful city, and this will become the most remarkable tribute of respect and recognition of Shusha and its ancient history.

Of course, not only Shusha or Karabakh, but also the whole of Azerbaijan and the entire Turkic world have brought up great poets and artists. For example, this year marks the 880th anniversary of the birth of Nizami Ganjavi. For centuries, poets competed with him in skill and strove to get closer to him. The work of Fateh Sultan Mehmet, who wrote poetry under the pseudonym of Avni, reflects the same feelings (recites a poem of Fateh Sultan Mehmet).

This year also marks the 850th anniversary of the birth of Ahi Evren, the 580th anniversary of the birth of Alisher Navoi, the 750th anniversary of the death of Haji Bektashi Veli, and the 700th anniversary of the death of Yunus Emre. The 1300th anniversary of the birth of Farabi was marked last year. There are very few nations in the world that have such a rich and high culture. We must communicate our values to both the younger generation and the whole world. All those I have named and those I haven’t are honored with respect are founding fathers of our culture and pillars of world culture.

As humanity comprehends the valuable thoughts reflected in their works, it will become much easier to resolve the problems of our world. Advancing our culture by building bridges from the past to the future will help our culture take the place it deserves. The more we strengthen our unity, equality, friendship and brotherhood, the closer together we are, the faster we can achieve this goal.

My brothers, over time we will become even better aware of the benefits that the Victory in Karabakh will bring to Azerbaijan, the Caucasus and the whole world. Let no-one be worried about this Victory because this is a Victory of justice, a Victory of peace and soul. Indeed, looking at the work being done and the work that will be done after the Victory, we can imagine a picture of the future. First of all, stability, peace, tranquility and hope are back to every corner of Karabakh. The way has opened for our Azerbaijani brothers to return to their homes, to their land they have been separated from for 30 years. Inshallah, during our next trip, we will experience the joy of people returning to their native lands. Today I am already addressing them in the Azerbaijani parliament. The construction of your houses has already begun. Inshallah, everything will be built and we look forward to you returning.

The tedious tension caused by the prolonged conflict as a result of the occupation have already been left behind. Today, roads are being built at a rapid pace, water pipelines are being laid, power plants are being built and commissioned. I saw all this with my own eyes and am telling you. On the other hand, infrastructure facilities are being built. Inshallah, we will also build schools, hospitals, etc. with our TOKI in the region.

It is impossible to describe the comfort and wealth that the opening of the Zangazur corridor connecting Nakhchivan and Baku will bring to our region. Everyone knows that good always triumphs, justice always gets the upper hand. At the same time, Karabakh has become a place where plans of those who wanted to see the world as the arena of their political and economic interests were disrupted. In addition, together with Azerbaijan, all these processes mark the start of a new period for Armenia as well. For example, the railway that will operate in the Zangazur corridor can only be used by the Armenians to comfortably travel to Moscow and go out to the whole world. Thus, they will be able to escape from the blockade in which they found themselves thanks to the Armenians themselves.

Together with my brother, we put forward a new proposal. What is our proposal? Let six countries - Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Armenia and Georgia - unite into one platform. Thanks to this platform, stability will reign in the region and hostility in the region will be eliminated. Only Georgia had questions in this respect. During his last visit to Turkey, the Prime Minister of Georgia and I discussed these issues as well. I said that it would be in Georgia's interests too. Let's take this step. We know the problems between us and Armenia. However, despite all this, we wish to eliminate all the problems of our Azerbaijani brothers. At the same time, this platform will contribute to resolving your problems with Russia. He said, “I will try.” We answered, “Everything will be fine.”

This region needs peace. We must achieve it. While the problems of Armenia and Azerbaijan are being addressed, Turkey will also take the necessary steps. The opening of the borders with Turkey will bring great benefits to Armenia. It is in our hands to turn this Victory into a victory for everyone. All of us together must assess the possibilities so that the Caucasus never becomes dependent again. We are fighting for this cause together with our friends at the global level under the motto “The world is more than five”.

I came here after the NATO summit. At the NATO summit, we also discussed these very issues and assessed them. Glory to Allah, we had fruitful meetings. However, the problems in the world do not end there and there are still many unresolved problems in the world. But if we are strong and united, by the grace of Allah we will be able to solve them. Inshallah, by raising our culture to the highest peak, we will bring closer the days when peace and justice will reign in our region and throughout the world. I would like to end my speech with the lines of great poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzade (recites a poem of poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzade).

With heartfelt wishes, I say good-bye.