According to video seen on Turkish television, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan landed in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan on Monday to meet with his counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
Just a few days had passed since Azerbaijan captured the predominantly Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is located between Armenia and Iran on Turkey’s border.
According to Turkish media, the two presidents were scheduled to discuss Nagorno-Karabakh and the opening of Armenia’s Zangezur corridor to Azerbaijanis in addition to the ostensible purpose of the visit, which was to kick off the construction of a gas pipeline.
Annexing the Zangezur corridor along the border with Iran would enable Azerbaijan to establish territorial continuity all the way to Nakhichevan and beyond to Turkey.
Erdogan’s visit following the Nagorno-Karabakh offensive contrasts sharply with Russia’s apparent withdrawal from the region.
