President Aliyev condoles with his Turkish counterpart on anniversary of 2016 events UPDATE

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the occasion of July 15 events in Turkiye.

“On the eighth anniversary of the events of July 15, I honour 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,” President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said, Caliber.Az reports citing the local media.

“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,” the head of state noted in the letter.

“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,” the letter reads.

The President of Azerbaijan recalled with the greatest pleasure his recent meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Astana.

“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,” the President added.

11:15

In the letter, President Ilham Aliyev expressed condolences on the eighth anniversary of the events of July 15, noted that he deeply respects the memory of martyrs who sacrificed their lives while preventing the coup attempt in this country, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Azerbaijani president’s press service.

Besides, in the letter, the Azerbaijani leader recalled with satisfaction the recent meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Astana, expressed confidence that Azerbaijan and Türkiye will successfully continue joint efforts for the expansion of bilateral ties, multifaceted cooperation and strategic partnership, raising the level of interstate relations unparalleled in the world and based on friendship, mutual trust and support.

On the night of July 15, 2016, a small faction within the army attempted to launch a coup against the AKP-led government, deploying tanks and troops to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul and seizing facilities, including television stations and bridges.

In a statement, the coup plotters accused the government of eroding the democratic order and damaging the rule of law in Türkiye. The coup was poorly planned, though, with no backing from the public and only partial support within the military, and it began to falter almost as soon as it started. Erdogan called his supporters to rally to confront coup plotters in the streets quickly.

The coup plotters were soon overwhelmed by loyal military units and civilians, and by morning the government was firmly back in control. Nearly 300 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in confrontations.