FM regards Turkish president's congratulatory letter to Kocharian as "incomprehensible"

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev regarded congratulation of Robert Kocharian [as the newly elected president of Armenia] by Turkish President Ahmad Necdet Sezer as "at least an incomprehensible action." Speaking about his meeting with the Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ahmed Unal Cevikgoz, the minister said he requested the Turkish ambassador to bring Baku's stance on the issue to the consideration of Ankara.

The Turkish president's congratulatory letter to Kocharian has embarrassed the Azerbaijani community. Despite the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe (CE) and the United States have not recognised the outcome of the 5 March presidential elections in Armenia, following reports on mass rigging and falsification, the Turkish president is among the leaders who have sent congratulatory letters to Robert Kocharian as the newly elected president of Armenia.

Kocharian is suspected of involvement in the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, massacre of thousands of civilians of Azeri origin, and is also recognised as pursuing extremism towards the Turks, and as one of the masterminds for the advocacy of the so-called Armenian genocide all over the world.