BAKU. June 13 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the opening of a new central command post of the Azerbaijani Air Force on Tuesday, the Azerbaijani presidential website said.
Erdogan is paying a state visit to Azerbaijan on June 12-13.
Baku and Ankara are planning 16 joint military exercises this year, and some of them have already taken place, Aliyev said in a press statement in Baku on Tuesday, following talks with Erdogan.
"[Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan] and I discussed cooperation in defense and the defense sector today. Azerbaijan and Turkey will hold 16 joint military exercises this year, including six that have already been held," Aliyev said.
Aliyev said he had "announced after the Second Karabakh War [in fall 2020] that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces would develop based on the Turkish model." "We are bearing witness to that," he said.