Baku urges Ankara not to interfere in internal affairs

Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party has issued a statement urging the Turkish authorities not to interfere in the country’s internal affairs. The statement was prompted by media and social media posts, including comments by Oktay Saral, chief adviser to the president of Turkey, and by lawmakers from the Justice and Development Party (AKP), criticizing restrictions on wearing the hijab in Azerbaijani schools.

The statement says that using such sensitive topics for political manipulation and pressure on Azerbaijan is unacceptable. The party stressed that such steps serve neither the unity of the Turkish people nor the solidarity of the Muslim world, and called on the AKP leadership to abandon this kind of policy.

In addition, Baku noted that both Turkey and Azerbaijan are secular states and warned against statements that could harm bilateral relations.