New Chief of General Staff of Turkish Armed Forces meets with military leadership of Azerbaijan

Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey, Army General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, met with the military leadership of Azerbaijan as part of a working visit to Baku on September 15.

During the meeting at the Ministry of Defense, the Azerbaijani minister, Zakir Hasanov, highly praised Turkey's consistent support for Azerbaijan and emphasized the historical significance of September 15—"the day of the liberation of Baku from the Dashnak-Bolshevik occupation"—for the Azerbaijani people.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, he congratulated Bayraktaroğlu on his appointment as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey.

In turn, Bayraktaroğlu noted that "such visits and meetings make a positive contribution to the development of relations based on mutual trust and friendship."

Bayraktaroğlu also met with the Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, Karim Valiyev.

During the meeting, Valiyev spoke about innovations in the Azerbaijani army, emphasizing "the availability of all opportunities for the further development of military cooperation between the two countries."

The parties had a detailed exchange of views on the current state and further expansion of cooperation in military, military-technical, military-educational, and other areas, and also discussed other issues of mutual interest.

The meetings also discussed new prospects for military cooperation, regional security, and other issues of mutual interest to the parties.

On September 15, 1918, with the support of the Caucasus Islamic (Turkish) Army, Baku was liberated from the invading forces, after which it became possible for the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, proclaimed on May 28 of the same year, to move its capital from Ganja.