AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to the Karabakh region in the Republic of Azerbaijan. This trip is being made at the invitation of his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and with the aim of participating in a ceremony that Baku has organized on the occasion of "Victory Day." This visit is taking place at a high level and with the aim of containing the hidden tensions that have recently appeared in the relations between Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
According to a report by Al Jazeera, Erdogan is accompanied on this trip by a delegation that includes his wife Emine Erdogan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization Ibrahim Kalin, the head of the Communications Directorate of the Presidency Burhanettin Duran, and a number of ministers and parliament members. The composition of this delegation shows the importance of the Turkish president's trip to the Republic of Azerbaijan at the current sensitive juncture.
The two presidents are scheduled to examine the grounds for cooperation and developments in regional files in a bilateral meeting. This meeting is taking place in circumstances where a dispute between Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan has become the talk of the town regarding Baku's decision to impose restrictions on wearing the hijab in the schools of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The hijab crisis; the spark of tension between Ankara and Baku
Despite the historic slogan "One Nation, Two States," which summarizes the strength of the two countries' political and military alliance, tensions became apparent last September. When Baku approved new regulations regarding students' clothing, according to which clothing incompatible with the principles of secularism was banned.
Although the regulations did not explicitly mention the hijab, reports were published indicating that veiled students were prevented from entering schools in the Republic of Azerbaijan. A matter that sparked a wave of criticism in Ankara.
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party asked its Azerbaijani counterpart to cancel these restrictions. The crisis intensified when Oktay Saral, Erdogan's senior adviser, criticized Baku's new policy, and the Republic of Azerbaijan considered these remarks interference in its internal affairs.
Following this, Erdogan dismissed his adviser to reduce the anger of Azerbaijani officials. However, Aliyev did not attend the summit of Turkic-speaking countries in Ankara late last October and only sent his foreign minister to the meeting.
Before departing for Baku, Erdogan announced that there is no obstacle that the brotherhood between Turkey and the Republic of Azerbaijan cannot pass through. These remarks were a clear reference to his desire to end the differences.
The no-entry list; the ban on the entry of 31 Turkish figures into the Republic of Azerbaijan
The tensions were not limited to the remarks of the two countries' officials, and on October 21, Baku prevented the entry of 31 prominent Turkish figures into its territory.
This list included Turkish political, media, and religious figures, including Fatih Erbakan, the leader of the New Welfare Party, Ömer Ulutaş, the leader of the Land Party, Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a Turkish parliament member, Mehmet Boynukalın, the former imam of the Hagia Sophia Mosque, Adem Özköse, a journalist, and Yusuf Kaplan, a writer.
Baku justified this decision by citing remarks and materials published on the internet and social media. Materials that, according to Azerbaijani officials, targeted this country's sovereignty, national security, and constitutional order and contained calls for changing power through force and incitement to violence and religious hatred. However, Azerbaijani officials did not provide specific examples of the remarks attributed to each of these individuals.
In this regard, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Azerbaijan announced a separate action against seven Turkish nationals and announced that these individuals are being pursued within the framework of an investigation on charges of calling for changing the system through force and incitement to religious hatred. This action differs from the decision to ban the entry of 31 people into the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Geopolitical differences; beyond the hijab issue
Analysts believe that the current tension goes beyond the hijab issue and reflects the differences in the two countries' geopolitical views and their differing views on the place of religion.
Elhan Shahinoglu, the director of the Atlas Research Center in Baku, in a conversation with Agence France-Presse, says, "Baku does not consider itself the smaller brother of this alliance and emphasizes relations based on equal partnership."
Gonul Tol, a researcher at the Middle East Institute in Washington, also told this news agency that the dispute over the hijab is a sign of a deeper rift. A rift related to the sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ankara's influence, and the difference in the two countries' policies toward the Zionist regime and Armenia.
The Republic of Azerbaijan has close relations with the Zionist regime. A country that delivered weapons to Baku in the six-week war with Armenia in 2020. In contrast, Erdogan accuses the Zionist regime of committing genocide in Gaza and has maintained his relations with the Palestinian resistance movements.
On the other hand, the Republic of Azerbaijan, in a lightning attack in 2023 and with Turkey's support, took full control of the Karabakh region.
Turkey is also pursuing the path of normalizing relations with Armenia. This comes as tension between Baku and Yerevan continues.
Despite these deep differences, observers believe that strategic interests still play a deterrent role against the expansion of tensions. Military ties and coordination in the energy sector are of vital importance for both countries. Because Turkey is considered the main strategic route for the export of the Republic of Azerbaijan's oil and gas to Western markets.
Erdogan hopes that by participating in the ceremony commemorating the liberation of the city of Shusha in Karabakh — which was achieved with Turkey's decisive support — he can once again change the orientation of the two countries' relations toward stability and the revival of relations based on the slogan "One Nation, Two States."
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