A joint military exercise by the land and air elements of the Turkish and Azerbaijani armies has continued during the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said on Aug. 1. The military exercise was conducted with the participation of mechanized units and attack choppers in the drill taking place on the territories of Azerbaijan, according to the ministry.

The ministry said over Twitter that the two countries’ contingents have continued the preparations for the drill, which will last until mid-August over the weekend.

The weekend exercises included mechanized units, snipers, fire support teams, commandos and attack helicopters, it added.

The annual exercise aiming to improve the two armies’ cooperation and coordination was launched on July 29 after the tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan has escalated as a result of the former’s attack on the border.

The exercises are planned to be executed in two phases; land and air. The former is planned to be concluded on Aug. 5 while the latter will last until Aug. 14 with warplanes and air defense elements being used.

Turkey has expressed full support and assistance to Azerbaijan while urging Armenia to stop its attacks that would further de-stabilize the Caucasus. 

Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, is under illegal Armenian occupation since 1991.

Maritime training with Spain

In the meantime, the ministry announced in a separate statement on Aug. 2 that Turkish and Spanish navies are conducting maritime training in the northern Aegean as part of a NATO mission. 

“Standing NATO Maritime Group-2 (SNMG-2) units consisting of Spanish ESPS ALVARO DE BAZAN and TCG YILDIRIM conducted maritime trainings with TCG DOĞAN and TCG MARTI on 30 July 2020 in the Northern Aegean Sea,” the ministry said in a tweet.