The political relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan set up with the declaration of the independence of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic on May 28, 1918, restored when Azerbaijan regained its independence and Türkiye became the first state recognizing its independence on November 9, 1991.
Diplomatic relations between two states were established on January 14, 1992. The Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Türkiye was opened in August 1992. There are Consulates General of Azerbaijan in Istanbul and Kars. The Embassy of Türkiye in Azerbaijan was established in January 1992. There are Consulates General of Türkiye in Nakhichevan and Ganja.
The relations between Azerbaijan and Türkiye steadily thrive in on the basis of the philosophies of “Azerbaijan's joy is our joy, its sorrow is our sorrow” of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye and “one nation, two states” of Azerbaijan's National Leader Haydar Aliyev. Further strengthening and enhancing relations with brotherly Türkiye is of the main components of the foreign policy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Brotherly relations with deep historical roots are dynamically and successfully flourishing in every sphere, inter alia, political area. Furthermore, mutual and regular visits of two leaders play a vital role in the cooperation of two states in all directions with outstanding outcomes.
The regular meetings of Azerbaijan-Türkiye High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, which was set up by the Joint Declaration signed in Istanbul, on September 15, 2010, considerably contributed to strengthening and deepening the relations between two states in all areas. This Council held eight meetings in total, with the last one being in Baku on 25 February 2020. The cooperation in all the areas are systematically evaluated and consequently important agreements on the key issues are signed within the framework of these meetings.
Türkiye has consistently advocated the fair position of Azerbaijan regarding the illegal military occupation of its internationally recognized territories by Armenia for nearly 28 years. Türkiye provided firm political and moral support during the 44-days war against Armenia in between 27 September-10 November which resulted with the victory of Azerbaijan over Armenia.
Shusha Declaration signed on June 15, 2021 in Shusha, a historical and cultural city of Azerbaijan which was under the illegal occupation of Armenia for 28 years, between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Türkiye has made two brotherly nations officially ally. This is of an example of raising the comprehensive and thorough relations between two brotherly nations to another higher level emerged with Shusha Declaration. Against this background, all state institutions of both countries closely cooperate with each-other in order to harmonize and synchronize their activities on the basis of the spirit of Shusha Declaration. The ratification of Shusha Declaration in the Parliaments of Azerbaijan and Türkiye bestowed a law status to it incorporated to the national legislature of both countries.
Senior and other level visits have greatly contributed to the development of bilateral relations. In this regard, the Presidents of the Republic of Azerbaijan paid more than 42 official and working visits to Türkiye in 1994-2022. The last visit took place on May 14, 2022 on the occasion of the inauguration of Rize-Artvin International Airport. Meanwhile, the Presidents of Türkiye paid more than 22 visits to Azerbaijan in this period. Final visit of the President of Türkiye to Azerbaijan took place on January 28, 2022 in the framework of TEKNOFEST Festival in Baku.
Cooperation in trilateral formats with participation of Azerbaijan and Türkiye with Georgia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, as well as in quadrilateral format with participation of Iran and Georgia is another example of strategic and constructive regional engagement.
Moreover, tradition of unconditional mutual support and close cooperation in the framework of international organizations successfully continues and both countries mutually strive for stability, security and prosperity of the region and beyond.
Inter-parliamentary relations
There is a Working Group for Azerbaijan-Türkiye Inter-Parliamentary Relations in the Milli Majlis (Parliament of Azerbaijan). The leader of the group is Ahliman Amiraslanov. The group consists of 59 members of the Milli Majlis.
The Friendship Group for Turkish-Azerbaijani Inter-Parliamentary Relations operates in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The leader of the group is Shamil Ayrim. The Board of the group consists of 10 MPs.