Erdogan Arrives in Karabakh for Victory Day After Aliyev Invitation

Erdoğan heads to Karabakh

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in the Karabakh region to participate in Baku’s celebrations of Victory Day at the invitation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, as the visit aimed to contain “a suppressed tension” in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations. Erdoğan traveled with Emine Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, and Burhanuddin Durhan, and the two presidents were planned to hold a bilateral meeting to discuss “avenues of cooperation” and developments in regional files.

Baku’s restrictions on wearing the veil in schools, and Baku’s decision to impose restrictions on wearing the veil in schools, surfaced in September after Baku adopted new school dress codes banning apparel that did not conform to secularism. Erdoğan signaled a desire to turn the page on the dispute when he stated before heading to Baku that “there is no obstacle that the brothers between Turkey and Azerbaijan cannot overcome,” while Baku cut short the Turkish-speaking countries summit in Ankara in late October and sent its foreign minister instead.

Blacklist and legal steps

Baku barred 31 prominent Turkish figures from entering its territory on October 21, and the banned included Fathullah Erbakan, Omar Oltas, Omar Faruk Girgirli Oglo, Mehmet Boynukala, Adam Ozkose, and Yusuf Kaplan. Baku justified the travel ban by claiming the targeted figures sought to undermine “the country’s sovereignty, national security, and constitutional order,” and the justification also cited calls to change the government by force and incitement to violence and religious hatred.

The Azerbaijani prosecutor’s office announced separate proceedings against seven people from Turkey, and the office said they were sought in an investigation concerning charges of calling for forceful regime change and incitement to religious hatred. Ilham Shakhinoglu told AFP that “Baku does not see itself as the younger brother in this alliance, and insists on equal partner relations,” as the dispute over the veil was framed as part of a broader divergence in views on religion’s role.

What is at stake next

Erdoğan’s Karabakh trip also intersected with the wider strategic relationship, because Azerbaijan managed to fully control Karabakh in a rapid 2023 offensive with Turkish support, and Turkey pursued normalization with Armenia while tensions remained between Baku and Yerevan. The sources tied the alliance’s durability to military ties and energy sector coordination, with Turkey serving as the main strategic route for Azerbaijani oil and gas exports to Western markets.

Erdoğan hoped that participating in the anniversary of the liberation of the city of Shusha in Karabakh would redirect the course of relations toward the stability of “One Nation,” even as the veil crisis had already sparked tensions between Ankara and Baku. Gonül Tol of the Middle East Institute in Washington said the dispute over the veil was “a symptom of a deeper rift” related to Azerbaijan’s sovereignty, Ankara’s influence, and policy differences toward Israel and Armenia.

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