BAKU (Dispatches) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Azerbaijan on Sunday for Victory Day celebrations at the invitation of President Ilham Aliyev, seeking to mend an unusually public rift between the two close allies over Baku’s restrictions on Islamic headscarves in schools.
Erdogan was welcomed by Aliyev at Fuzuli International Airport in Karabakh, according to Anadolu Agency and Daily Sabah. The Turkish leader was accompanied by First Lady Emine Erdogan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli and other senior officials. 
The two leaders were scheduled to hold bilateral talks in Shusha and a joint news conference later Sunday.
The visit follows tensions that escalated in September when Baku amended school uniform regulations to bar clothing deemed incompatible with secular education, effectively prohibiting Islamic headscarves in classrooms. 
The move drew criticism from Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), including presidential adviser Oktay Saral, who demanded that Azerbaijan rescind the restrictions. 
Baku’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party condemned the remarks as “interference in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs,” and authorities declared 31 Turkish nationals persona non grata, including an opposition lawmaker and several party leaders.
Erdogan subsequently dismissed Saral from his post, but Aliyev declined a personal invitation to attend the Turkic States summit in Ankara on Oct. 30, sending Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov instead.
Analysts cited by AFP said the dispute reflects deeper differences, including Baku’s insistence on treating the relationship as one between equal partners rather than seeing itself as a junior member, as well as Azerbaijan’s close ties with Israel and Turkey’s own rapprochement with Armenia.
The headscarf dispute has also exposed a broader divergence in the two countries’ religious policies. Azerbaijan, a secular republic, has long restricted religious symbols in state institutions, while Turkey’s AKP government has championed the right of women to wear headscarves in schools and public offices. 
Turkish officials have privately expressed concern that Baku’s measures could alienate conservative voters at home who view Azerbaijan as a brotherly Muslim nation.
Erdogan’s visit is seen in Ankara as an effort to contain the damage before it affects broader cooperation on energy, trade and defense. Turkey is Azerbaijan’s largest arms supplier and a key partner in the Shah Deniz gas corridor, while Azerbaijan has been a major investor in Turkey. Both sides have signaled interest in moving past the dispute, with Aliyev’s office describing the Victory Day invitation as a gesture of goodwill.