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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will not attend the 13th summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Ankara on Oct. 29-30, Azerbaijani media reported Thursday, as relations between Baku and Ankara face diplomatic tensions over Azerbaijan's headscarf restrictions in schools.
According to Azerbaijani media reports, Aliyev will miss the gathering because of a busy schedule that includes his planned participation in the closing ceremony of the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Baku.
The tournament's final and official closing ceremony are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 30, with Aliyev expected to attend the awards presentation. Reports said his participation in the ceremony had been arranged in advance.
His absence comes as Türkiye prepares to assume the rotating chairmanship of the OTS from Azerbaijan, raising questions about how the leadership handover will proceed without the Azerbaijani president.
The development comes against the backdrop of recent diplomatic friction between Ankara and Baku over Azerbaijan's decision to ban headscarves in primary and secondary schools.
The restrictions, introduced last month, triggered criticism of the Azerbaijani government in Türkiye, straining relations between the two countries.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed chief presidential adviser Oktay Saral, who criticized Azerbaijani government's decision, on Sunday in an effort to ease tensions with Azerbaijan over the dispute.
Although Azerbaijani media attributed Aliyev's absence to scheduling commitments, the decision comes at a sensitive moment in bilateral relations, with the OTS summit providing an opportunity for high-level engagement between the two countries.
Türkiye is hosting the two-day summit under the theme "Turkic Century: Unity in Language, Thought and Deed," with Erdogan welcoming participating leaders to the Turkish capital.
The gathering aims to deepen cooperation and strengthen political and cultural ties among Turkic-speaking countries.
Established in 2009 as the Turkic Council, the organization adopted its current name during its eighth summit in Istanbul in 2021.
Its five members are Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, while Turkmenistan, Hungary, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Economic Cooperation Organization hold observer status.
The rotating chairmanship is scheduled to pass from Azerbaijan to Türkiye during the Ankara gathering, although Aliyev's reported absence leaves the arrangements for the handover unclear.
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