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Baku, Ankara didn't discuss creation of Turkish military base in Azerbaijan — Azeri leader

BAKU, October 15. /TASS/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that Baku and Ankara had not discussed the construction of a Turkish military base in Azerbaijan.

"Turkey and we have got a wide legal framework. We have agreements signed in many spheres, which include points on cooperation and mutual aid in the military sphere. This is our right. Turkey is our ally, and if there is a serious danger to Azerbaijan, we can use these opportunities. But there has been no discussion of the construction of a Turkish military base in Azerbaijan," Aliyev said on Thursday in an interview with Turkey’s NTV channel.

The president stressed that the military cooperation between both states is improving every year. "Only last year, we held ten joint military exercises, and this year, there were fewer of them due to the coronavirus, just two. But they have caused a great deal of concern in the region. I think there are no grounds for concern. These drills were not aimed against any state. They are aimed to strengthen cooperation, to improve the Azerbaijani army, to get it up to the standards of the Turkish army and to study Turkey’s advanced experience in the area of military construction," Aliyev noted.