Turkish Military Intelligence Officer: Turkey Does Not Need Military Base in Nakhchivan

Baku / 04.09.18 / Turan: The former head of Intelligence of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, Colonel-General Ismail Haggı Pekin said there is no need to establish a Turkish military base in Nakhchivan.

This opinion was expressed by Pekin, answering Turan's question: "Is Turkey going to build a military base in Nakhchivan?"

Earlier, the columnist of the Turkish newspaper Sözcü, Zeynep Gürcanlı, in an article published in the September 3 issue reported that talks are spread in Ankara about Turkey preparing to open a military base in Nakhchivan.

"The corps of the armed forces of Azerbaijan is headquartered in Nakhchivan. Turkey provides it with the necessary support, our military advisers are there, and Turkey closely cooperates with the border troops and the Nakhchivan Special Forces. When it is impossible to send fuel for the troops in Nakhchivan, Turkey, and sometimes Iran, provide fuel to the military forces of the autonomous region," Colonel-General Pekin said.

He also drew attention to the fact that Turkey's opening of a military base in Nakhchivan would raise suspicion in Iran. "Nakhchivan, on the one hand, has borders with Armenia, and on the other hand, with Turkey." Turkey's support for the military forces in Nakhchivan is troubling Armenia, which should not cause concern, since it is too small, but the appearance of a military base of a NATO member country next door can trouble Iran.

And in general, there is no point in opening a base in Nakhchivan, since Turkey, without this, provides the necessary support to the autonomy. Why do we need to build a base when, very close to Nakhchivan, in the towns of Dogubeyazit and Kars, our military units are located, and a corps is located in Erzurum? The question of establishing our naval base in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is now being considered. We should focus on this," the ex-head of the Turkish military intelligence agency told Turan.

It should be noted that Colonel-General Ismail Haggi Pekin spent the years 2011-2014 in prison on charges of the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) Operation conducted by the FETO (Fethullah Gülen) organization against the Turkish army. However, then Pekin and 200 officers of the Turkish army again appeared before the court and were acquitted. -0--