Former Turkish Prime Minister on Nagorno-Karabakh

Binali Yıldırım, the Deputy Chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party, addressed the transport project bypassing Azerbaijan proposed by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the presidential candidate of the opposition Nation Alliance, as well as the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh during a broadcast on Haber Global. Yıldırım made unfounded claims regarding this matter, as reported by Ermenihaber.am.

Speaking about the transportation routes operating in the region, he stated: "First of all, what Mr. Kemal has presented is not something new. Secondly, the route beneficial to Turkic states does not bypass Azerbaijan; it is the most economical route from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and China— the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Middle Corridor. This route is currently being used very actively."

Later, commenting on Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev's response to Kılıçdaroğlu's project, Yıldırım asserted that Armenia attempted to obstruct the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project by exerting influence on Russia and later on the U.S., but they fought hard against it. He further stated that there is nothing surprising about it, as the project for this corridor was merely handed to Kılıçdaroğlu, who presented it enthusiastically.

“However, one cannot imagine the Turkic world without Azerbaijan. Look at what officials from the Republican People's Party (RPP) said during the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh. They claimed that Turkey was sending jihadists there and waging war alongside Azerbaijan. In other words, they presented accusations against us, stating that we were using terrorist organizations to wage war against the Armenians. These were said by individuals who held significant diplomatic positions in the RPP. As a result, the victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war was an unjust occupation, and with the end of that occupation, the confidence of the countries in the Organization of Turkic States has increased, and their attitude towards Turkey has changed. Look, the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh would have never been possible without President Erdoğan. I want to emphasize this, as our esteemed president’s close personal friendship with Mr. Putin has significantly contributed to the removal of this injustice. I say this because there are details that I know.”