ANKARA - President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and General Staff Chief General Hilmi Ozkok left for Azerbaijani capital Baku on Monday to attend the funeral of former President Haydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
Holding a press conference at Ankara's Esenboga Airport prior to his departure, President Sezer said, ''Haydar Aliyev had a distinguished and special place both in history of Azerbaijan and in further improvement of bilateral relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. His demise created a profound sorrow among Turkish people.''
''We have been commiserating with Azerbaijani people. During the funeral, I will convey Turkey's sincere condolences to the nation of friendly Azerbaijan. I am proud of meeting personally with Haydar Aliyev who had made great contributions to Azerbaijan's acquiring its independence and its development. As a result of valuable contributions of Haydar Aliyev, Turkey and Azerbaijan have come closer to each other laid their relations on a ground basis. We will always remember Haydar Aliyev with a great respect for this valuable contributions to efforts to shape the brilliant future of Turkey-Azerbaijan relations,'' he added.
(UK-AY) 15.12.2003