Inside Turkey-Azerbaijan tensions over headscarves, Armenia and Israel
Turkey and Azerbaijan have eased a public dispute over headscarf restrictions, but disagreements over Armenia, Israel and interference in domestic affairs remain.
ANKARA — Tensions between Turkey and Azerbaijan have eased, at least publicly, following a dispute over headscarves, but the episode exposed simmering disagreements over interference in domestic affairs, relations with Armenia and Baku’s close ties with Israel.
The row ensued after Azerbaijan on Sept. 21 adopted a new school dress code that effectively barred headscarves in public schools, a decision slammed by lawmakers from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). In response to Turkish criticism, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev chose to skip the 13th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, held Oct. 30 in Ankara.
The crisis eased only after Erdogan paid a Nov. 8 visit to Azerbaijan, where he and Aliyev publicly reaffirmed their close ties. Subsequently, Aliyev attended the COP31 gathering in Antalya on Nov. 11.
“Neither the Turkish side nor the Azerbaijani side managed this crisis well,” Nazim Jafarov, deputy director of the Caucasian Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (QAFSAM), a Baku-based think tank, told Al-Monitor.
