Azerbaijani president receives Turkish counterpart

BAKU, Azerbaijan

The president of Azerbaijan received his Turkish counterpart with an official ceremony in the capital Baku on Thursday.

Ilham Aliyev welcomed Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the two heads of state listened to their countries' national anthems.

Both the leaders later had a closed-door meeting.

The ceremony was attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Vice presidents of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Mahir Unal and Efkan Ala, AK Party Spokesperson Omer Celik, Religious Affairs Director Ali Eras, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin.

*Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara