The aim of this article is to analyze the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan during the presidency of Turgut Özal (1989–1993). Following the collapse of the USSR, the South Caucasus became a strategically significant region, attracting particular attention from the international community. The dissolution of one of the superpowers created a geopolitical vacuum in the region, leading to a restructuring of the balance of power and the architecture of regional security. Its geopolitical location, energy potential, and transport corridors, as well as its impact on security and political stability, made the South Caucasus one of the key regions in global politics. For Turkey, which had been unable to maintain an active presence in the South Caucasus during the Soviet era, this region acquired a distinctive strategic significance on the international stage. In 1991, Azerbaijan, having declared its independence, entered the system of international relations as an autonomous actor based on historical, religious, and cultural ties with Turkey. Bilateral relations thus acquired new political content. Turkey gained the opportunity to reassess its geopolitical position within the new international system and to reorganize its foreign policy, which had previously been dominated by Western dependence and weakened balance, in accordance with national interests.

In this process, Turkey developed institutional and multilateral ties with Azerbaijan based on ethnic and cultural commonalities, strengthened regional cooperation, and established a mutually beneficial strategic partnership, creating new political and economic opportunities. On August 30, 1991, Azerbaijan declared independence, and on October 18 of the same year, the “Law on State Independence” was adopted. The post-independence period, especially the conflict in Karabakh, significantly influenced regional security.

The historical and cultural context played a key role in integrating the idea of the “Turkish world” into political structures. Turkey–Azerbaijan relations gained new momentum during the Turgut Özal period, with the strategic significance of energy resources and intergovernmental policies shaping the economically rational direction of Özal’s foreign policy. In the formation of these relations, Özal’s political personality played a decisive role. Priorities based on energy policy, particularly the development of diplomatic and cultural strategies with Azerbaijan, were among Özal’s main foreign policy priorities. In a number of studies, Turkish scholars describe Özal as a “transformational leader,” which helps to better understand his influence on bilateral relations.