BAKU, Azerbaijan - Criticism of Azerbaijan by some Turkish political circles may reflect disputes over Baku’s relations with Israel and the possible opening of Turkey’s border with Armenia more than concern about school dress rules, Azerbaijani political analyst Eldar Namazov said.
Namazov made the comments in an interview with the ITON-TV YouTube channel, arguing that a sensitive religious issue was being used to influence Azerbaijan’s foreign-policy choices.
He said secular public education is common across several Turkic states but that recent public criticism has focused selectively on Azerbaijan. In his assessment, that suggests a political motive beyond the debate over headscarves and school uniforms.
Alliance and Sovereignty
Namazov said cooperation among Turkic states rests on the sovereignty of each member. Shared language, culture and history do not require identical foreign policies, he said, because the countries face different security conditions and international obligations.
“We will not surrender our sovereignty or independence to anyone in any matter,” Namazov said.
He pointed to Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli’s defense of the sovereignty and domestic law of Turkic states as evidence that criticism of Baku does not represent a single position across Turkey’s governing alliance.
Namazov described the disagreement as a dispute involving certain political and diplomatic circles, not a rupture between Azerbaijan and Turkey. He said the alliance remains strategically important but must operate through mutual respect rather than pressure over domestic policy.
Israel Ties and the Armenia Border
One source of friction, Namazov said, may be opposition within parts of Turkey’s political establishment to Azerbaijan’s partnership with Israel. He argued that Baku selects its partners according to national interests, including the positions those countries took during the Karabakh conflict.
He said Turkey continues to pursue relations with the United States despite Washington’s support for Israel, and Azerbaijan has the same right to determine its own partnerships. Namazov called for preserving both the Azerbaijan-Turkey alliance and Baku’s ties with Israel rather than treating the relationships as mutually exclusive.
Namazov also said some Turkish diplomatic circles want to open the border with Armenia before the remaining disputes between Baku and Yerevan are resolved. He argued that an early opening could weaken Armenia’s incentive to complete the peace process, including constitutional changes sought by Azerbaijan.
In his view, the prospect of open borders should remain an incentive for a final settlement rather than a benefit granted in advance. He described suggestions that a peace treaty might not be completed until 2031 as troubling if the Turkey-Armenia border is opened much sooner.
Walkout During Herzog’s Speech
Namazov cited the reaction to Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s speech at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia summit in Baku as an example of differing diplomatic choices within the broader region.
Turkey’s delegation, led by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and representatives of several other countries left the hall as Herzog began speaking on Oct. 15. Anadolu Agency reported that more than 10 delegations participated in the walkout.
Namazov said independent diplomatic decisions should not become grounds for a public campaign against another Turkic state. He also urged Turkey and Israel to seek political solutions to their regional disputes, warning that a military confrontation between them would have severe consequences for both countries.
Source: Vesti Baku, based on Namazov’s ITON-TV interview.