Azeri-Turkish council to hold its first meeting in Turkey

The very first meeting of a high-level strategic council between Ankara and Baku will be held in Turkey, announced Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday during an official visit to the Azerbaijani capital.

Erdoğan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev held a two-hour meeting upon the Turkish prime minster’s arrival in the Azeri capital. Later, the two also presided on meetings between delegations.

Speaking to the media ahead of the meeting between delegations, Aliyev congratulated Erdoğan for the success of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in winning office for a third consecutive term in the June 12 parliamentary elections.

“Your visit after the elections shows that relations are at a high level,” Aliyev was quoted as telling Erdoğan.

For his part, Erdoğan underlined that in line with Ankara’s diplomatic conventions, following last week’s trip to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), which marked his first visit abroad as head of the new government, his second visit abroad was to the neighboring Azerbaijan.