BAKU. June 15 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a declaration on allied relations in Shusha on Tuesday.
"We signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations today. This declaration raises our relationship to the highest level. [...] At present, we have created qualitatively new ties. And all the points of this declaration are guarantors of our further cooperation," Aliyev said following talks with the Turkish leader.
Azerbaijan and Turkey are the closest countries on the global arena, he said.
"There are quite many factors ensuring the unity of Azerbaijan and Turkey: history, culture, common ethnic roots, language, religion, national values and interests, and the fraternity of our peoples. At this point, we are demonstrating an example of unique allied relations and cooperation on the world scene," Aliyev said.
The key points of the Shusha Declaration envisage Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation in the defense sector, he said.
"Key issues such as cooperation at the international level, political, economic, and trade relations, culture, education, sports, energy security, and the importance of the South Gas Corridor are reflected in the declaration. All these issues are very important, but I would like to emphasize two of them. These are Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation in the sphere of the defense industry and mutual military assistance," Aliyev said.
The signing of the declaration is a historic achievement, he said.
"We demonstrate hereby that we will always be together in the future and will ensure each other's security, as was the case in the past, when Azerbaijan and Turkey were together on all important matters," Aliyev said.