Erdoğan’s chief adviser claims some are trying to ‘cast a shadow’ over Turkey-Azerbaijan alliance

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief adviser Hasan Nuri Yaşar has claimed that some are attempting to undermine ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan amid growing public controversy over Azerbaijan’s school hijab restrictions.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Yaşar claimed that unnamed forces were seeking to distance Baku from Ankara. ‘For some time, we have been witnessing events and comments with dark undertones that could cast a shadow over the national unity between Türkiye and Azerbaijan’, Yaşar said.

His remarks come after comments by another Erdoğan adviser criticising Azerbaijan’s school dress code, triggering responses from Azerbaijani political representatives and adding to tensions in public discourse between the two traditionally close allies.

He claimed that three unnamed countries, who are allegedly rivals, were secretly developing joint strategies to distance Azerbaijan from Turkey and sever Turkey’s ties with Central Asia.

Azerbaijani ruling party condemns Turkey for criticising hijab ban

Tensions between Azerbaijan and Turkey appear to be entering a new phase.

OC MediaRafig Shahbazov

According to Yaşar, these forces are also seeking to introduce new and destructive tactics into the instability caused by the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and its affiliates.

‘The position of our state must be carefully monitored on such strategic issues, and we must act with patience and caution’, he added.

Yaşar’s remarks come amid recent controversy and protests over Azerbaijan’s ban on hijabs in educational institutions, which Turkish officials have responded to negatively. The two countries have traditionally maintained close ties but recently simmering tensions have bubbled to the surface, centred around disputes about Azerbaijan’s restrictions on religious freedom, Ankara’s distaste of Baku’s alliance with Israel, and questions over Turkish support during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Explainer | What’s behind the Turkey–Azerbaijan spat?

A variety of tenuously connected issues have exposed a deeper divide over the unequal power dynamics between Ankara and Baku.

OC MediaNate Ostiller

Earlier, Oktay Saral, another chief adviser to Erdoğan, described the ban on hijabs in Azerbaijani schools as ‘unacceptable’. His remarks drew responses from Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) and the Azerbaijan–Turkey interparliamentary working group.

Azerbaijan’s new dress code for teachers raises questions over freedom of expression

People say the hijab has been banned, while the government remains silent.

OC MediaRafig Shahbazov