Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan left here today for Azerbaijan to participate in a meeting of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Baku. The Turkish premier will also visit Ukraine and Bosnia-Herzegovina following his stay in Azerbaijan, according to a report of Anadolu news agency. Speaking to reporters before his departure, Erdogan said cooperation in energy was the most strategic dimension of the relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan which he said were characterized by joint culture, language and history. "We have been extending firm support to Azerbaijan since its independence 21 years ago. And we are happy to visit brotherly Azerbaijan once again," Erdogan said. Erdogan said his contacts in Ukraine would focus on devising ways to boost relations further, adding that he would meet with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych during a session of the Turkey-Ukraine High Level Strategic Cooperation Council on Thursday. The Turkish prime minister said he would also address the 9th edition of the Yalta European Strategy -- an international network that promotes Ukraine's European integration -- as the event's guest of honor. Erdogan will proceed to Bosnia-Herzegovina to receive an award granted in the name of Ottoman statesman Isabey Ishakovich, and he will also meet with Bakir Izetbegovic, Bosniak member of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
