Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made a remarkable speech at his party's congress the other day. Some parts of his speech were interpreted as a message to Turkey.
'DO NOT INTERFERE WITH OUR LIFESTYLE'
Aliyev stated that the Azerbaijani people live in stability, tranquility and peace, unlike many regions in the world, and said, "For this reason, security measures should always be on our agenda. As Azerbaijan gets stronger, pursues a more active, clear independent policy and responds with ten arrows for every arrow directed, the pressure on us will increase even more. We respond to a single blow with perhaps 2, 5 or even 10 blows so that everyone knows their place, does not interfere with our affairs, does not interfere with our way of life and does not interfere with us." "Let everyone look at their own nation and state. Azerbaijan's current reality is such that we have become a role model for many countries. For this reason, serious measures are being taken against both physical and ideological risks and will continue to be taken," he said.
'WE PURCHASED THE WEAPONS EXPENSIVELY'
Aliyev later said, "Our ideological sphere and foreign policy strategy must be free from foreign elements and foreign influence. We must build our foreign policy in a way that no one can interfere in our affairs - as it was until now. We do not need anyone's help or protection. When we needed help, no one helped us. When we had a million refugees, no one reached out to us. Whatever we acquired, we bought with our money. This includes all the weapons purchased with money at world prices, down to the last bullet. We do not need a single manat or a single gun." "There was not even a dollar discount. Sometimes they even sold us at prices many times higher than the world market prices and we had to turn a blind eye."
ERDOĞAN'S WORDS
Türkiye provided a large number of Bayraktar TB2 drones to Azerbaijan in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020; It was frequently stated in the Turkish press that this supply played a major role in Azerbaijan's victory. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan even pointed to Israel in 2024 and said, "We will do the same to them, just as we entered Karabakh and Libya." For this reason, an official from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense reported that only the Azerbaijani army took part in the fight.
In the editorial of the state-run Azerbaijan newspaper four days after Erdoğan's speech, it was stated: "The whole of Azerbaijan watches with disappointment and deep sadness the attempts of our people, our army and our commander to claim their legitimate victory and use it on their own behalf. The consequences of Azerbaijan's victory belong to the entire Turkic world, but none of them, including Turkey, are the creators of these consequences. The well-known statements made in the brother country Türkiye clearly distort the facts of the 44-day war and, most importantly, It benefits the Armenians (...) The sad statements coming from Türkiye also mention the allegedly free military ammunition aid provided to Azerbaijan. We paid for every bullet, ammunition and equipment we purchased!” expressions were used.
AZERBAIJAN-ISRAEL RELATIONS
The emphasis on "independence in foreign policy" also came to the fore in Aliyev's words. The country's relations with Israel are frequently the subject of criticism in Turkey. In March of this year, following the criticism raised by the Turkish public on the allegation that "Azerbaijan helped Israel in the Iran war", the Directorate of Communications opposed these criticisms, saying, "It seems that posts containing criticism, disinformation and provocation that exceed their intended purpose have been made against Azerbaijan." Aliyev's emphasis on "independent foreign policy" was also interpreted as a reaction in this sense.
'HEADSCARF BAN'
In Azerbaijan, regulations regarding school uniforms were made in the past weeks. The step, which "prohibited the use of clothing elements that do not comply with the principle of secularism in schools", was seen as a "headscarf ban" by some groups in Turkey and attracted reaction. Aliyev's words, "No one should interfere with our way of life. Serious measures are being taken against both physical and ideological risks and will continue to be taken" were associated with these reactions.
