Aliyev's party to AKP: 'Irresponsible statements contradict spirit of brotherhood'

The New Azerbaijan Party, founded by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, issued a written statement against Turkish Presidential Adviser Oktay Saral and ruling party AKP lawmakers who criticized the Baku administration over the banning of headscarves in schools.

The party characterized the statements by Saral and AKP lawmakers as "populist and irresponsible," arguing that this stance "contradicts the spirit of Azerbaijan-Turkey fraternal relations." The statement emphasized that the campaign in question had taken on an "increasingly aggressive and slanderous" character.

The party warned that statements made without regard for Azerbaijan's constitutional order and the legal foundations of religious freedom could serve to create "artificial tensions" in the public eye. The New Azerbaijan Party called on Turkish officials to abandon this "harmful policy."

The statement points to an unusual point of friction in Turkey-Azerbaijan relations: while official channels between the two countries continue to operate on the basis of strategic partnership within the framework of the Shusha Declaration, Ankara-sourced criticism of Baku's domestic policy choices has not received a response at this level until now.