(MENAFN) Turkey views Azerbaijan’s victory in Karabakh as a step toward lasting peace, provided Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders adopt constructive approaches, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday, according to reports. He added that Türkiye will take all necessary measures to support this process.

Speaking at a ceremony in Baku marking the fifth anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Victory Day, Erdogan emphasized that Baku’s success should not be seen as an endpoint but as a milestone on the path to enduring stability in the Caucasus. He described Azerbaijan’s victory as ending a “major injustice” and ushering in a new era that reshapes geopolitical balances across Asia and Europe.

“Every step taken by the Azerbaijani Army in Karabakh for independence is ‘written in golden letters’ in the Turkic world history,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan had arrived in Azerbaijan earlier to attend the anniversary celebrations. The Karabakh region, mostly under Armenian control for nearly three decades, was largely reclaimed by Azerbaijan during a 44-day conflict in the fall of 2020, which concluded with a Russian-brokered peace deal and opened the path to normalization with Yerevan.

On Nov. 8, the Azerbaijani army liberated the city of Shusha, a date later designated as Victory Day by presidential decree. The holiday was originally set for Nov. 10, marking the end of the Second Karabakh War, but was moved to avoid coinciding with the anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s passing, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye.

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