ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev at the Presidential Complex in Ankara and discussed various topics, including bilateral ties, Israel's aggression in Gaza, reconstruction efforts in liberated Azerbaijani territories, and regional and global issues.

Erdogan expressed his appreciation for Azerbaijan’s reconstruction and development efforts in areas recently liberated from decades of Armenian occupation. He also emphasized Türkiye's monitoring of the process for the withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces from Karabakh, a region liberated by Azerbaijan in 2020-2023.

On ongoing Israeli atrocities in Gaza and other Palestinian territories, Erdogan highlighted the need for international pressure on Israel to address these crimes. He reaffirmed that a lasting solution lies in the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Erdogan also welcomed the decision to establish a Parliamentary Friendship Group between Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Inviting TRNC President Ersin Tatar to the Turkic Council Summit meeting in Shusha, Azerbaijan this July would "strengthen the Cyprus cause" of the Turkish Cypriot people, he said.

The president also expressed gratitude to Aliyev for inviting Türkiye to the COP29 UN climate change summit set to be hosted in the Azerbaijani capital Baku this November.

Türkiye pledged full support for the summit preparations and highlighted the importance of the Zero Waste Project, initiated by first lady Emine Erdogan, at the summit.

Türkiye’s close relations with Azerbaijan, often summed up with the phrase “One Nation, Two States,” are multifaceted and at a strategic level. Frequent high-level contacts are the main driving force of these ties.

The Shusha Declaration, signed and approved by both sides in 2021, signaled the will to elevate Turkish-Azerbaijani relations to the level of an alliance.