Turkey says it will not answer Aliyev’s criticism and has assured Azerbaijan it will not interfere in the country’s domestic affairs

Turkish officials have sought to ease tensions with Azerbaijan after President Ilham Aliyev criticized unnamed actors for meddling in his country’s domestic affairs and way of life. Speaking at a convention of his New Azerbaijan Party in Baku, Aliyev said Azerbaijan did not need patronage or outside help. His remarks were widely interpreted in Ankara as directed at Turkey.

The dispute followed informal restrictions on headscarves in Azerbaijani schools last month, which prompted social media campaigns and street protests in Turkey. Pro-government Turkish media compared the issue with Turkey’s 28 February 1997 “post-modern coup.” Turkish officials said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s earlier UN General Assembly comments on discrimination against Muslim women were aimed at France and Austria, not Azerbaijan. A senior official called Azerbaijan a “kin country” and described the dispute as a misunderstanding, saying Ankara had given assurances at the highest levels that it would not interfere in Baku’s internal affairs. Ruling AK Party spokesperson Omer Celik said Erdogan and Aliyev had a genuine brotherly relationship, that actions by groups in Turkey did not represent the government’s position, and that attempts to divide the two countries would not be tolerated.

Turkey’s 28 February 1997 “post-modern coup” refers to a military-led process that pressured the country’s Islamist-led government to leave office.