Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev welcomed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday at the Fuzuli International Airport in Karabakh as the Turkish leader arrived to attend celebrations for Victory Day.
Erdoğan, accompanied by first lady Emine Erdoğan and a delegation of ministers, was all smiles as Aliyev took his arm and they were engaged in a warm conversation before they headed into the airport’s terminal. The sight was confirmation of unwavering bonds between the two countries, which were almost on the brink of a crisis just a few weeks ago.
The Turkish president and Aliyev, whom he affectionately calls “qardaş” (brother), are scheduled to hold a joint news conference after a meeting later on Sunday, after their visit to Karabakh’s Shusha. Erdoğan is also scheduled to attend wreath-laying ceremonies at monuments in Khojaly and Khankendi that were devoted to victims of Armenian atrocities in 1991 and 1992 and the victory in the Second Karabakh War.
In remarks to journalists earlier this week as he was returning from South Korea, Erdoğan dismissed suggestions of a crisis between the two countries, emphasizing the strength of their longstanding ties.
"Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to take the necessary steps during this visit," Erdoğan said back then, referring to Sunday’s visit.
He has said he had already held phone talks with Aliyev and sent his intelligence chief and foreign minister to Azerbaijan. He added that phone diplomacy had continued both with Aliyev and between their spouses. "Our relations with Azerbaijan go far beyond conventional diplomatic contacts. The unbreakable bond between our two countries is the product of our shared history, culture, destiny and, God willing, our future," he said. "There is no obstacle that the brotherhood between Türkiye and Azerbaijan cannot overcome," he added.
