07/1/2021 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – On June 28th, Turkey and Azerbaijan began a three-day live fire joint military exercise in Baku to increase their forces’ cohesion and interoperability. The exercise was titled “Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 2021” in a reference to Turkic nationalism, the Armenian genocide, and its continued denial by the authorities.

After World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal appointed himself the leader of the new nation of Turkey and thus was a key leader of driving out non-Turkic influences, including what Armenian communities remained in Anatolia, in an attempt to craft a uniting nationalistic Turkic narrative. This narrative has continued today. Much of the non-Turkic population of Turkey are historically Christian, such as the Armenians and Greeks.

The latest joint exercise is the most recent instance of cooperation between the two nations since the end of the 44-day War over Nagorno-Karabakh last November, during which Turkey supported Azerbaijan’s efforts to conquer traditionally Armenian populated territory. During the war numerous reports of war crimes, displacement, along with desecration of Armenian churches and cemeteries were reported. Turkish support and facilitation of Azerbaijan’s actions has remained unwavering, only recently responding to international calls for accountability by sending its own team of investigators to assess alleged abuses while banning neutral third-parties from the area.

The exercise also follows a visit by Erdogan to the Shushi, Nagorno-Karabakh’s second largest city that was taken in the war, where he and President Aliyev signed a declaration of military cooperation and discussed the possibility of a establishing a Turkish military base in Azerbaijan.

For more information, see ICC’s report: Nagorno-Karabakh: A Humanitarian Perspective.