Turkey, Azerbaijan launch military dialogue in Baku

Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday that the 13th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Military Dialogue kicked off in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

The two delegations are headed by Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Defense Lt. Gen. Kerim Veliyev and Deputy Chief of Turkish General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroğlu, the ministry said.

The meeting’s agenda is focused on bilateral cooperation in security, military, military-technical, military-medical, military-educational, defense industry, and other fields.

Earlier this year, Turkey and Azerbaijan carried out the Winter 2021 Drill, featuring domestically developed weaponry and equipment.

The drill mostly focused on operational capabilities during the harsh weather conditions in winter months, including practicing sheltering, reinforcement, maintenance and educational development. Ground and air assaults, airdrops, airborne operations and logistic support were practiced by both militaries.

Ankara and Baku, with the participation of the countries’ air and ground forces, launched joint military drills last year in the wake of Armenian attacks on Azerbaijani border points.

Turkey threw its support behind Azerbaijan, whose Nagorno-Karabakh region had remained under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades before finally being liberated last November.