CICEK ATTENDS ALIYEV’S OATH-TAKING CEREMONY

Today’s Zaman
25 October 2008, Saturday
Turkey

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek attended the oath-taking ceremony
of recently re-elected Azerbaijanian President Ilham Aliyev yesterday
in Baku.

Aliyev won the presidential election held on Oct. 15 by a wide
margin. Delivering a speech during the ceremony, Aliyev said he would
continue serving his country and people. Georgian President Mikhail
Saakashvili, whose country fought a brief war with Russia over the
breakaway region of South Ossetia in August, was also present at
the ceremony.

Turkey is a key regional ally of Azerbaijan and is currently promoting
three-way talks involving Armenia and Azerbaijan on ways to resolve a
long-standing conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey refuses to open
its border with Armenia and restore diplomatic ties unless Armenia
withdraws from the Azerbaijani territory it invaded in the ’90s.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress