Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has congratulated Azerbaijan on its Independence Restoration Day, sending greetings to President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people.
“On behalf of my country and nation, I wholeheartedly congratulate friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan on the Independence Restoration Day,” Erdogan wrote on X on Sunday.
“I extend my greetings to my brother, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and to my Azerbaijani Turkish brothers and sisters, with whom we always stand united in sorrow and joy.”
Azerbaijan celebrates its independence on October 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 recognise Azerbaijan’s independence on November 9, 1991, shortly after Azerbaijan declared independence on August 30 of the same year.
The two countries elevated their relations to the level of an alliance through the Shusha Declaration, signed in June 2021.
‘Unshakable bond of friendship, brotherhood between leaders’
On Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that relations with Azerbaijan were built on solid strategic foundations and had been tested through wars and crises.
Speaking to reporters in Baku, where he was attending the seventh CICA summit, Fidan said the “two states, one nation” principle was reflected across all areas of bilateral ties.
“There is an unshakable bond of friendship and brotherhood between our leaders,” he said.
Fidan acknowledged that the two countries could differ on some issues but warned against exploiting those differences to undermine their strategic relationship or turning them into propaganda on social media.
