On March 15, Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan, arrived in Turkey to attend the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of the State of the Organization of Turkic States, the Press Office of the Azerbaijani President reported.

Meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

On the same day, Ilham Aliyev met with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of the Republic of Turkey, in Ankara.

The sides underlined the importance of the format the summit of the Turkic States held and the fact that the event was dedicated to mitigating the impact of the earthquake in Turkey.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recalled Azerbaijan’s brotherly support and solidarity shown immediately after the devastating quake in Turkey. The Turkish President praised the efforts of Azerbaijani rescuers and doctors in the quake-hit regions and the country’s humanitarian aid to eliminate the consequences of the natural disaster.

They praised the successful development of brotherly and friendly relations between the two countries in all areas based on the one nation and two states principle. They discussed the further expansion of cooperation in politics, economy, trade, energy, defense, defense industry, and regional issues.

During the conversation, the sides also exchanged views on normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the negotiations process for a peace treaty.

Ilham Aliyev attended the Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Turkic States

On March 16, initiated by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States was held in Ankara.

Addressing the event, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan thanked President Ilham Aliyev for his initiative to hold the Extraordinary Summit themed "Disaster-Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance" following the earthquake which occurred in Turkey. He said: "On my own behalf and on behalf of my nation, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of brotherly Azerbaijan, who called for the Summit to be held in Turkey."

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said decisions to be made at the Ankara Summit would contribute significantly to developing economic relations among Turkic-speaking countries. He specifically mentioned the decision to establish the Turkic Investment Fund. The President of Turkey said that the Fund would make an important contribution to the further development of cooperation among member countries in infrastructure, transport, agriculture, tourism, alternative energy, and others.

Emphasizing the successful implementation of large-scale projects in the fields of oil, natural gas, and electricity in the Caspian basin with the participation of countries of the Turkic world, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline has been continuously delivering oil from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan to world markets for 16 years. Thanks to the Southern Gas Corridor, of which TANAP is the backbone, Turkic states play an important role in European energy security."

Aliyev stated, "The government and people of Azerbaijan were mobilized to provide humanitarian aid to brotherly Turkey the moment the earthquake struck. Nine hundred forty people from Azerbaijan, including rescue workers, medical personnel, and volunteers, were dispatched to the earthquake region. Azerbaijan topped the list of countries worldwide for the number of rescuers sent to Turkey. Thanks to the efforts of our rescue workers and doctors, 53 people were saved from under the rubble. Also, the bodies of 780 people were found. Our medical personnel provided medical assistance to more than 3,000 people."

"Although Armenia recognized Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty in Prague and Sochi in 2022, it has not yet fully withdrawn its troops from the territory of Azerbaijan. Illegal Armenian detachments and criminal elements remain in Karabakh. Armenia also evades the obligation to open the Zangezur corridor," he added.

"The Turkic world is not limited to the borders of Turkic states. The Turkic world covers a more extensive geography. The number of Azerbaijanis living in the world exceeds 50 million, and only 10 million live in the independent Republic of Azerbaijan," Aliyev stressed.