Ilham Aliyev received Turkish foreign minister

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The head of state offered his condolences to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu over the casualties caused by a train crash in Ankara. President Ilham Aliyev hailed the excellent level of Azerbaijan-Turkey friendly and brotherly relations, describing 2018 as a very fruitful year in terms of the strengthening of bilateral ties between the two countries.

Pointing to his numerous visits to Turkey, as well as the Turkish President’s trips to Azerbaijan, the head of state noted that the inauguration of joint projects, including military parades and other significant events co-organized by Azerbaijan and Turkey showed the two countries’ unity to the world.

President Ilham Aliyev pointed out vital global importance of the jointly implemented projects, including TANAP, TAP and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, saying Azerbaijan and Turkey support each other on all these issues. The head of state commended Turkey for constantly supporting Azerbaijan on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as Turkey's recent statements on this issue, and thanked the foreign minister for the brotherly country’s stance in this regard.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu expressed his gratitude to the head of state for the reception and his condolences.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu extended President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's greetings and best wishes to President Ilham Aliyev.

The Turkish minister noted that brotherly Azerbaijan and its leader President Ilham Aliyev have always stood by Turkey, adding that Turkey will always support Azerbaijan too.

Pointing to the 39th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Mevlut Cavusoglu congratulated Azerbaijan on the excellent organization of the event. He hailed the fact that Azerbaijan has become a venue for hosting important international events. Mevlut Cavusoglu noted that thanks to the Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents’ sincere friendly and brotherly relations as well as their instructions, the two countries’ foreign ministries are closely collaborating. He also noted the importance of the global projects jointly implemented by Azerbaijan and Turkey, pointing to a number of other important works to be done.

On the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the minister underlined that Turkey will continue to firmly support the settlement of the dispute on the basis of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The sides also exchanged views on bilateral cooperation prospects.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s greetings, and asked the FM to extend his greetings to the Turkish President.