WikiLeaks Won’t Put Strain on Turkey-Azerbaijan Relations: Kılıç

Turkey’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Hulusi Kılıç, has told reporters that Turkish-Azerbaijani relations will not be affected by the recent release of sensitive US diplomatic cables that have sparked a global reaction, reports Today’s Zaman.

 

“I don’t think that information published on WikiLeaks will negatively effect Azerbaijan-Turkey cooperation,” Kılıç said just a day after Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev denied there was any truth to the content of the secret cables regarding Aliyev’s alleged statements during their meetings in Astana.

Cables leaked by WikiLeaks late last Sunday revealed that Aliyev had expressed distaste toward Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government, calling Turkish foreign policy “naive” and its initiatives a “failure.” The Azerbaijani side asserted that Aliyev did not speak of third countries during his meetings with US administration officials. “Aliyev, as a rule, does not usually talk about third countries in his meetings,” said Novruz Mammadov, the head of international relations at the Azerbaijan Presidential Administration.