Why does Azerbaijan delay lifting visa regime with Turkey?

Ankara’s proposal to Baku to lift visa regime between the two countries has not been implemented yet. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry motivates it by some technical problems.

According to Azadlıq, Ambassador of Turkey to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilich has again raised that issue lately. The Ambassador said that the Turkish government wants visa regime to be lifted in the near future, Ankara is waiting for Baku’s step. According to the Ambassador, citizens of Azerbaijan traveling to Turkey need not have a visa while Official Baku has not lifted visa regime yet.

In response to Azadlıq’s question of why Azerbaijan delays the issue resolution National Front party Deputy Chairman Ibrahim Veliyev said it is because Azerbaijan’s words and actions differ. “If the authorities acted by Heydar Aliyev’s principle “two states, one nation,” they would have lifted the limitation long ago. It implies that Baku is not sincere, it does not consider Turkey as a brotherly state,” he said.

According to Veliyev, no visa regime should work in countries having common interests. “Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s interests are not contradicting. Ankara always defends Baku’s interests. While Azerbaijani government’s opposition in this issue is not intelligible. Indeed it was Ankara that should have been scared of unemployed and poor Azerbaijani people’s immigration to the country as the visa regime was lifted. However, Turkey is not concerned about it, while Azerbaijani government artificially delays the issue for vague reasons,” Veliyev said.