To His Excellency Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Türkiye

Dear Mr. President,

My dear Brother.

On the eighth anniversary of the events of July 15, I honor the cherished memory of all our martyrs who sacrificed their lives to thwart the attempted coup with profound respect and reverence, and extend my deepest condolences to their families and to all the people of Türkiye.

The heinous coup attempt that took place on this night, forever etched in the blood memory of our brotherly Türkiye, was an attack on your country's national interests, democratic foundations, and the rule of law. The wise and brave people of Türkiye once again wrote a heroic epic by resolutely fighting for their homeland, statehood, and democracy, making their chests a shield. The events of that night established July 15 as “Democracy and National Unity Day,” a symbol of your resilient people's solidarity, struggle, and national unity, which will always live on and be remembered with even greater pride through the ages.

Your decisive and immediate actions and leadership played a special role in repelling this coup attempt against Turkish statehood, thereby saving your country from great tragedies. By rallying tightly around you, your people once again demonstrated their national pride, strength, and unyielding will to the world by standing up for their state, freedom, and democracy.

From the very first moments, the Azerbaijani people and state strongly condemned this betrayal and, as always, stood by the brotherly Turkish state and people. This was our duty of brotherhood and loyalty to share our joys and sorrows with Turkiye.

Dear Mr. President, I recall with the greatest pleasure our recent meeting in Astana and our detailed exchange of views. I am confident that we will successfully continue our joint efforts to further expand Azerbaijan-Turkiye relations, multi-faceted cooperation, and strategic alliance, which are based on friendship, mutual trust and support, thus, raising our unparalleled inter-state relations to even greater heights.

I wish you robust health, success in your endeavors, and everlasting peace and prosperity to the brotherly people of Turkiye.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 12 July 2024