24 April 2014. Prague.
The Eastern Partnership summit marking the programme’s fifth anniversary.
Armenia’s then-president, Serzh Sargsyan, levels accusations against Türkiye.
President Ilham Aliyev takes the floor and utters the words that would later resonate across Türkiye: “If Türkiye is not here, I am here!”
3 October 2026. Istanbul.
A group operating under foreign directives stages a protest against Azerbaijan.
A systematic smear campaign against the Azerbaijani state is launched across the Turkish segment of social media.
Azerbaijan is singled out as a target over its relations with Israel, ties anchored in national and state interests.
Yet the field is deserted: with the exception of four or five intellectuals, no one steps forward to defend Azerbaijan.
Groups instructed to undermine relations between Baku and Ankara launch attacks on Azerbaijan using “Turanian tactics.”
Yet several influential Turkish figures who once professed boundless love for Azerbaijan are nowhere to be seen.
We look on with hope… But the palanquin is empty. There is no saving them.
Those who used friendship with Azerbaijan purely for personal gain, fulfilling their wishes with appeals of “we are brothers, help us with this matter,” have gone into hiding today.
You see clearly that an unfair smear campaign is targeting your brother, and crucially, that the foundations of Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship are being systematically shaken.
Why remain silent? If you do not speak out at such a critical and historical juncture, then your “love” and “brotherhood” toward Azerbaijan were built on personal interests rather than principled values.
Yet: No one is forgotten! Nothing is forgotten!
It is easy to invoke the values of brotherhood and friendship when bilateral relations run smoothly. The true sincerity of these ties is tested during difficult and sensitive times.
Why were you so vocal when asking for favours for yourselves, your families, and your close circles?
Does brotherhood only last until the river is crossed? Do you not know that the waters will flow back into the stream again? What will happen then?
“How will you look us in the face then?”
To be fair, amid the smear campaign against Azerbaijan in Türkiye, there are individuals who resolutely defend our country’s position.
History demonstrates that in times of crisis, those who step forward are the ones showing courage and selflessness in defence of the Motherland. Yet because certain Turkish men who claimed to love Azerbaijan have fled and gone into hiding, women have risen to defend our homeland.
Prominent among them is Professor Aygun Attar.
She has been “in the trenches” for days: countering groundless allegations and defamation attempts against Azerbaijan across social media and video platforms, working to expose the false and unfounded nature of this campaign through facts and arguments.
Where, in the thick of this struggle, are those Turkish men who claimed to adore Azerbaijan?
We all know where they are.
I wish them the perseverance of Aygun Attar, the loyalty of brotherhood, and the courage of true friendship.
In conclusion, this campaign instigated against Azerbaijan in Türkiye by external forces served as an examination: certain Turkish figures who continuously preached Azerbaijani brotherhood and friendship failed this test and were held back.
Their grade now is a humiliating failing mark, heads bowed in shame.
Those unable to live up to the “one nation, two states” principle received an ‘F’ in this lesson on brotherhood.
Aqshin Evren
Editor-in-Chief, Globalinfo.az
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