ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated Azerbaijan on its Independence Day on Friday.

“I wholeheartedly congratulate our friend, our brother, Azerbaijan, with whom we share the concept of two states, one nation, on October 18 Independence Day,” Erdogan wrote on X.

Azerbaijan celebrates its independence on Oct. 18, marking the adoption of the Constitutional Law on the Independence of the State in 1991. The law declared Azerbaijan’s independence as the successor to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which existed from 1918 to 1920.

Türkiye became the first country to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence, doing so on Nov. 9, 1991, shortly after Azerbaijan declared independence on Aug. 30 of the same year.