The flag crisis was a result of Turkish police throwing banned Azerbaijani flags into what looked like a trash can with “WC” written on it during a World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia at Bursa Atatürk Stadium on Oct. 14 and Azerbaijan's retaliation by removing Turkish flags around a monument dedicated to Turkish soldiers who died during Azerbaijan's war of independence in 1918 and in front of the Turkish Embassy in Baku. As Davutoğlu noted in his speech at the Turkish Parliament on Oct. 21, he once again underlined that the Azerbaijani and Turkish flags are equally sacred during his interview to the media in front of the cemetery of Turkish soldiers during his visit on Thursday.
Calling the flag, land and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan the flag, land and territorial integrity of Turkey, Davutoğlu said the fallen soldiers in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh and Turks who died for the independence of Azerbaijan in 1918 were fighters defending the same ideology, country and independence of Azerbaijan.
The foreign minister expressed discontent over insults to the Azerbaijani flag at the Bursa Atatürk Stadium during the match, as well. Expressing his views on the tension between Azerbaijan and Turkey, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said there is no tension between Azerbaijan and Turkey and that the countries still enjoy brotherly relations.
Subsequent to the announcement of a six-week process of internal political consultations on Aug. 31 by the Turkish and Armenian governments, the Azerbaijani government and public expressed their concern over improving relations between Turkey and Armenia.
“The Azerbaijani reaction to Turkish-Armenian reconciliation is normal; there is a ground for that. However, both the Turkish and Azerbaijani sides should take patient steps while assessing ongoing processes in the region,” said Vefa Guluzade, a political analyst and a political advisor to the late President Haydar Aliyev as well as the head of the Baku-based Caspian Research Center.
Analyzing Turkish-Armenian rapprochement on the local and global levels, Guluzade said: “Approaching the issue from the local perspective, there is a possibility of deterioration in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations. Azerbaijanis view the process through the local lens, which shows the situation is not to their benefit at all.” The expert also asked how it would be possible to expect a positive attitude from the Azerbaijani public if they see Turkey enjoying good relations with Armenia, a country that is occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijani land. “Turkey means a lot to the Azerbaijani public. Azerbaijanis have confidence in Turkey and in their Turkish brothers. In this atmosphere, the signing of protocols on the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations is neither understandable nor acceptable to Azerbaijanis,” he said.
Addressing the global view, Guluzade said: “We should be patient and approach the issue from a much broader aspect.” Assessing the changing geo-strategic and geopolitical situation in the South Caucasus, Guluzade said Azerbaijan stands to gain much from Turkish-Armenian reconciliation. He believes Turkish-Armenian rapprochement could considerably contribute to the peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which has been in stagnation for more than a decade. “The South Caucasus is gradually falling under the influence of the United States and Turkey. The US is explicitly interested in stability and cooperation in the region. Turkish-Armenian reconciliation could pave the way for a change in the Armenian international political outlook, and that could work to the benefit of Azerbaijan,” the expert concluded.
Speaking on Azerbaijani public TV on Thursday while assessing the increase in tension between Azerbaijan and Turkey, Rauf Arifoğlu, editor-in-chief of the Yeni Müsavat daily, said: “We all saw the Azerbaijani flags fluttering in the hands of our Turkish brothers while the Turkish-Armenian World Cup match was taking place at the Bursa Atatürk Stadium. They were there for their Azerbaijani brothers. We should not lose the country [Turkey], one that has always been a staunch supporter of our cause, as a result of emotional reactions.”
Speaking to Sunday's Zaman, Şahin İsmayılov, the president of the Student Youth Organization at the Azerbaijan University of Languages, expressed his faith in Turks and Turkey's Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. Mentioning the promise reiterated by Turkish leaders, namely, that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be solved prior to any opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, he said: “The AK Party has always supported Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis. We believe the Turkish-Armenian border will not be opened before the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is solved.”
Noting the “flag crisis” between Azerbaijan and Turkey, İsmayılov said this unfortunate situation serves the interests of other powers with interests in the region. Assessing the event as a provocation, he said: “The inexperienced Turkish police should be blamed for mishandling the Azerbaijani flag. We should not evaluate this action as a step taken by the Turks and the Turkish government [as a whole]. Turks are people who know the value of the crescent and star on the flag and appreciate it.”
Opinions among Azerbaijani citizens, however, vary. Elçin Musayev, 23, said Turkey is too patient with what Azerbaijan is doing in response to the handling of the Azerbaijani flag during the match. “I would not say there is a growing anti-Turkish atmosphere in Azerbaijan yet, but there are people who are trying to instigate the public. Azerbaijan needs to conduct smarter politics,” Musayev said while speaking to Sunday's Zaman.
Muhammed Aliyev, an Azerbaijani citizen from Nakhchivan, told Sunday's Zaman that there is growing anxiety within the Azerbaijani public. “Everyone says Turkey betrayed us. I don't think Azerbaijan is on the right track. The removal of the [Turkish] flags was not right,” Aliyev said.
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