AZERBAIJANI ALIYEV TO MAKE FIRST VISIT TO TURKEY AFTER ELECTION

Nov 4 2008
Turkey

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will arrive in Turkey on Wednesday
for a two-day formal visit upon an invitation by Turkey’s President
Abdullah Gul.

The president of Azerbaijan will pay a formal visit to Turkey this
week, the Presidential Office of Turkey announced on Tuesday.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will arrive in Turkey on Wednesday
for a two-day formal visit upon an invitation by Turkey’s President
Abdullah Gul, Anatolia Agency reported.

This visit will be Aliyev’s first abroad state visit after he was
re-elected to this position on October 15.

Aliyev will have tete-a-tete meetings with President Gul and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and address the Turkish parliament.

President Aliyev will also inaugurate a street in the Turkish capital
of Ankara which was named after Haydar Aliyev, the late president
of Azerbaijan.

During his talks with Turkish executives, Aliyev is expected to
debate bilateral relations, developments in the South Caucasus, and
a Turkish proposal on setting up a stability and cooperation platform
in the Caucasus.

Ilham Aliyev and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsian signed
last week the document along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev,
who is seeking to underline Russia’s clout in the Caucasus region.

They agreed after talks outside Moscow with Medvedev to develop
confidence building measures as they search for a way to resolve
the conflict.

President Gul also visited Armenia on September 6 over Sargsian’s
invitation. They watched together Turkey-Armenian soccer match.

Gul stressed that that national match could help in eradicating
problems in relations between Turkey and Armenia.