Baku, Azerbaijan, July 12
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Azerbaijan always showed the greatest support for Turkey in the fight against the movement of Fethullah Gulen, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral said July 12.
He made the remarks in Baku at a press conference dedicated to the anniversary of the military coup attempt in Turkey.
The Turkish authorities accuse Fethullah Gulen, living in the US, of being involved in the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016.
On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.
More than 200 people were killed during the attempted coup.
“Unfortunately, Turkey doesn’t receive the necessary support from the international community in the fight against the Gulen movement,” Ozoral said. “This is while Azerbaijan has supported and continues to support us in this issue from the very beginning.”
The diplomat noted that on the night of the military coup attempt, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was one of the first heads of state to call Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Azerbaijan and Turkey are stronger together,” the ambassador said. “The strength of Azerbaijan is the strength of Turkey and the strength of Turkey is the strength of Azerbaijan.”
He recalled that there was one Azerbaijani among more than 255 Turkish citizens who were killed during the events related to the military coup attempt.
Ozoral noted that the events of July 15, 2016 didn’t weaken Turkey, but, on the contrary, made the country stronger.
“After the military coup attempt, the Turkish economy during the year was growing at a faster pace than earlier,” he added.