Following earthquakes that hit south-central Turkey and left more than 36,000 dead, many countries from around the world sent aid and search-rescue teams to help those affected by the disaster. Among those countries were the ones Turkey has had fraught relations, one of which was Armenia.
Armenia and Turkey don’t have diplomatic relations, and their border has been closed since the early 1990s due to a war Armenia fought against Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. Following the second war in 2020, which Azerbaijan won, there have been signs of normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia, as the two appointed envoys to manage the process.
The disaster pushed the process to go a little faster, as the border between the two was opened for the first time in 30 years to receive Armenian aid, and Armenian Foreign Minister paid a visit to Ankara, holding a joint press-briefing with Turkish counterpart.
The normalization process continues in the South Caucasus. We believe that the understanding of cooperation we have put forward in the humanitarian field will support this process. Progress in the normalization process of Armenia with Turkey and Azerbaijan will contribute to the peace and prosperity of our region.
Turkish FM Mevlud Chavushoglu
In the meantime, Azerbaijani pro-government media jumped to scrutinize Armenian efforts and bring them under question. Fake news found its place, too.
Journalist and political commentator Azer Hasrat claimed that the Armenian rescue workers wouldn’t be interested in saving Turks’ lives, and that Turkish law enforcement agencies should scrutinize their work. (It was confirmed, and Chavushoglu too mentioned that, Armenian team saved two people)
News site Baku Xabar even wrote that the Armenians could kill those trapped under the rubbles.
To what extent can we trust and believe that the rescuers from Armenia will try to save the citizens of Turkey who are struggling with death under the rubble? Also, who can guarantee that they will not kill Turks under the rubble instead of saving them?
Baku Xabar
Another news site Milli.az published a fake story that two Armenian rescuers were arrested by Turkish police after stealing jewelry from the collapsed houses. The news was circulated among other news agencies.
While Baku officials didn’t comment on the Turkey-Armenia closeness and Armenian aid, it was evident that the government wasn’t happy about the development, Baku-based analyst Shahin Jafarli wrote.
Based on the counter-propaganda carried out by some of our media organizations regarding Armenia’s aid to Turkey, it is possible to say that Turkey-Armenia rapprochement is not welcomed in Baku. However, for obvious reasons, any concern or dissatisfaction is not expressed at the official level. Undoubtedly, Ankara considers and will consider Azerbaijan’s position on this issue as much as possible. But it is wrong to expect and demand Turkey to completely index its foreign policy to the policy of Azerbaijan. As a result, we are talking about two independent states, each of which has its own interests, and these interests may sometimes not coincide.
Shahin Jafarli
