According to reports from journalist İsmail Saymaz, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev indicated he would have boycotted a scheduled summit in Ankara if Oktay Saral, an adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, had not resigned. The tension stemmed from Saral’s public criticism of headscarf restrictions within Azerbaijani schools, which Baku officials viewed as an unacceptable intrusion into their internal policies. The ruling party in Azerbaijan expressed significant dissatisfaction with these remarks, leading to a strained telephone discussion between the two heads of state. Sources cited by Saymaz confirmed that Aliyev’s attendance was contingent upon the removal of the adviser. Following instructions from President Erdoğan, Saral announced his resignation on Monday, effectively resolving the diplomatic friction and allowing the summit to proceed as planned.
Source : Turkish Minute
