THE President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived today at enclave of Nakhichevanlocated between Armenia and Iran and bordering Turkey, to meet him Azeri counterpart of Ilkhan Aliyevaccording to images broadcast by Turkish television networks.

Days after Azerbaijan seized Nagorno-Karabakh, the meeting was supposed to mark the official launch of the gas pipeline, but the two presidents are also expected to discuss the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and bring up the issue of opening the Zangezur corridor , which would connect the Nakhchivan enclave with Azerbaijan, according to Turkish media.

Attaching the Zangezur Corridor, which runs along the Armenian-Iranian border, would allow Baku to ensure territorial continuity with Nakhichevan and, beyond that, with Turkey.

The small enclave of Nakhichevan has belonged to Azerbaijan since 1923, but without territorial continuity with the rest of Azeri territory.

Turkey is making this show of force in Azerbaijan amid the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis as Russia appears to be withdrawing from the region.

Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly expressed last week his “support” for the military forces in Baku.