Turkey, Azerbaijan leaders vow unity after tensions

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev vowed on Sunday (November 8, 2026) that their countries' alliance would remain solid, in a show of unity aimed at overcoming a public rift between the close neighbours.

Tensions flared in September, when Baku revised school uniform regulations to prohibit clothing deemed incompatible with secular education, effectively barring Islamic headscarves in classrooms. Mr. Erdogan's government has dismantled restrictions on hijabs in Turkey.

Azerbaijan's move sparked protests at home and drew criticism from Mr. Erdogan's Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP). Presidential adviser Oktay Saral demanded that Azerbaijan reverse the restrictions.

Mr. Aliyev's ruling party, Yeni Azerbaijan, denounced the comments as "interference in Azerbaijan's internal affairs". Baku also declared 31 Turkish nationals, including an Opposition lawmaker and party leaders, persona non grata over critical social media posts.

Mr. Erdogan subsequently dismissed Mr. Saral, but Mr. Aliyev stayed away from an October 30 summit of Turkic leaders in Ankara — despite a personal invitation from Mr. Erdogan. Instead, he sent Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

On Sunday (November 8, 2026), as Azerbaijan marked Victory Day commemorating a 2020 war with Armenia, Mr. Erdogan arrived in the country's Fuzuli district, which Baku recaptured from Armenian forces six years ago. A guard of honour lined up at the airport, where Mr.

Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, welcomed Mr. Erdogan and his wife Ms. Emine. "With the permission of Almighty God, our unity will endure forever," Mr. Erdogan told a joint press conference with Mr. Aliyev. "This unity of hearts, which we describe with the motto 'One Nation, Two States,' is an everlasting torch that draws strength from our shared past and illuminates our future." Mr.

Aliyev said the alliance — "an important factor across a vast geographical area" — remained unshaken. "Together, Azerbaijan and Turkey are even stronger," he said, adding that Mr. Erdogan's visit "shows the whole world our unity".

"I am confident that this unity will last forever." Analysts say the quarrel reflects deeper unease over Baku's diplomatic independence and its close ties to Israel. "Azerbaijan-Turkey tensions stemmed from the fact that Baku does not see itself as the younger brother in this alliance and insists on relations between equal partners," Elkhan Shahinoglu, head of the Baku-based Atlas Research Centre, told AFP.

"The hijab dispute is a symptom of a deeper rift," Gonul Tol, an analyst at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, wrote on X. "Tensions have long simmered over a number of issues including Azerbaijan's sovereignty, Ankara's influence in Baku, diverging policies toward Israel, and Turkey's rapprochement with Armenia."