Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Monday during the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Council summit in Tianjin, China, underscoring Ankara’s active diplomacy at the high-level gathering.
The leaders discussed bilateral relations along with regional and global issues during the SCO Summit in Tianjin, China, according to a statement by the Turkish Communications Directorate released on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
Erdogan expressed satisfaction with the progress in the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process and said that Türkiye would continue contributing to the process. He emphasised the importance of Türkiye and Azerbaijan coordinating their regional development initiatives in the coming period. He said the two countries would continue taking steps to develop cooperation in many areas, particularly energy and transportation.
The meeting took place at Erdogan’s hotel, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also in attendance.
Peace in South Caucasus discussed
Separately, Erdogan also met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the summit sidelines. The encounter marked a rare interaction between the two leaders.
Erdogan discussed Türkiye-Armenia relations in a meeting that focused on efforts to ensure lasting stability and peace in the South Caucasus, said the directorate.
The Turkish president welcomed progress in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, reaffirming that his country supports peace, stability, and development in the region and will continue to contribute to these efforts.
Erdogan also noted that steps aimed at enhancing cooperation between Türkiye and Armenia were under consideration.
Erdogan arrived in China on Sunday and held bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif the same day. The Turkish leader’s diplomatic agenda highlights Ankara’s engagement across Asia amid shifting regional dynamics.
SCO summit in China
The 25th SCO summit formally opened Monday with President Xi delivering the keynote address. Originally formed as the “Shanghai Five” — comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan — before Uzbekistan joined as the sixth member, the SCO has since grown to encompass 10 member states, two observers, and 14 dialogue partners spanning Asia, Europe, and Africa.
Today, the SCO represents roughly 24 percent of the global landmass and 42 percent of the world’s population.
Member states account for about one-quarter of global GDP, with trade among them having increased nearly 100-fold over the past two decades.
