ISTANBUL
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday praised the unity and brotherhood with Türkiye at a key delivery ceremony of post-quake houses in the Turkish province of Kahramanmaras.
“I express the respect and love of the Azerbaijani people to all the people living in the earthquake-affected areas. You know and should know that you have 10 million brothers and sisters in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijanis also know that we have more than 80 million brothers and sisters in Türkiye. Long live Türkiye! Long live Türkiye-Azerbaijan unity and brotherhood!” Aliyev said at the ceremony alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Expressing that the Azerbaijani people treated the earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye in February 2023 as their own, Aliyev said “tens of thousands” of Azerbaijanis began to fulfill their “fraternal duty” by providing humanitarian aid.
Aliyev highlighted that the same number of people were provided with new apartments in a short period of time following the quakes, a testament to Erdogan’s “commitment, love and strong determination toward his people.”
“At the same time, this is also evidence of a strong Türkiye, because only a strong state can carry out such a large-scale reconstruction and construction work in a short time,” Aliyev said, adding that more than a 1,000 Azerbaijani personnel were immediately sent to the region at the time.
He said as many as 53 people were rescued from the rubble by Azerbaijani personnel, while another 3,200 people were provided with medical assistance by Azerbaijani doctors in two field hospitals established.
“Azerbaijan has always been by Türkiye’s side and Türkiye has always been by Azerbaijan's side. Today, my participation along with my dear brother in the opening of the ‘Azerbaijan’ quarter is further evidence of our unity and friendship,” he said, describing the establishment of the neighborhood as a “remarkable event.”
He said the brotherhood and unity between the two countries is an important factor not only for the region, but also on a global scale, reminding that the Shusha Declaration officially elevated Turkish-Azerbaijani relations to the level of an alliance.
He recalled Türkiye’s support for Azerbaijan on the issue of Karabakh from the first days of the 44-day conflict with Armenia in fall 2020, expressing Turkish solidarity “gave us additional strength.”
“The people of Kahramanmaras showed great resolve in the face of a terrible earthquake. They did not break or bend. They knew and believed that behind them stood a strong leader – Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Behind them stands a strong Türkiye,” he added.
On Feb. 6, 2023, magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 Turkish provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.
More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye were n affected by the quakes, as well as many others in northern Syria.
The post-quake houses for which the delivery ceremony was held, were built by the Azerbaijani government and the Housing Development Administration of the Republic of Türkiye (TOKI), in the New Azerbaijan Neighborhood of Kahramanmaras.
Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.
