From Hijab to Sovereignty: Turkish-Azerbaijani Dispute Upends Erdogan's Calculations

New repercussions in the crisis between Turkey and Azerbaijan have revealed another chapter where Ankara seeks to contain the dispute between the two allied countries, after it unexpectedly escalated within days with Baku adhering to a political approach that appears new to the nature of relations between the two nations.

The crisis took on a new dimension with Oktay Saral leaving his position as an advisor to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a development that came after his public criticism of restrictions imposed on the hijab in Azerbaijani schools, which sparked angry reactions in Baku.

A source in the ruling Justice and Development Party said that Saral's resignation, announced yesterday Monday, was expected within party circles over the past few days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intervened to put an end to criticisms directed at Baku from within his camp.

The source told "Erm News" that the resignation of the presidential advisor after ten years in the position represented a message within the party ranks about the need for caution in dealing with sensitive Azerbaijani issues in the coming period to spare the country new tensions with an allied state, and to avoid similar exclusion and dismissal as what happened with Saral.

Saral had criticized, via his account on the "X" platform on October 12 this month, the ban on hijab-wearing students entering schools, considering their deprivation of education unacceptable, and calling on Azerbaijani authorities to reverse the measure.

His statements came in the context of criticisms launched by other Turkish politicians and figures representing various Turkish parties against the new restrictions on female students' clothing, which are based on rules related to unifying school uniforms and principles of secularism.

Firm Azerbaijani Response
The ruling "New Azerbaijan" party responded with sharp criticisms, considering that statements by Turkish officials regarding the issue exceed limits and approach interference in the country's internal affairs, shifting the dispute from a discussion about freedom to wear the hijab to a political debate about sovereignty and the limits of Ankara's influence on its ally's choices.

The repercussions of the crisis were not limited to statements. Baku announced on October 21 the banning of 31 Turkish citizens from entering its territory, including the head of the "Rebirth" party Fatih Erbakan, and MP from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, justifying the decision with what it described as posts and statements targeting Azerbaijan's sovereignty, security, and constitutional order.

The Azerbaijani Public Prosecutor's Office also announced taking measures against seven people in Turkey, including in absentia arrest warrants and requests for international prosecution, following accusations related to inciting violent change of the constitutional regime and inciting religious hatred.