Turkish Embassy in Baku rejects claims foreign minister held ‘secret meeting’ in Azerbaijan

Türkiye’s Embassy in Baku on Saturday rejected claims by some Azerbaijani media outlets that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a “secret meeting” during his recent visit to Azerbaijan.

In a statement, the embassy said a report titled Behind the Scenes of Hakan Fidan’s Meeting at GYF, published by several media outlets, particularly Qafqazinfo, was based on baseless allegations.

The statement said the publication was part of disinformation efforts by circles seeking to damage relations between Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

It noted that Fidan had posed for courtesy photographs with numerous people during his visit to Baku, including members of an organization with legal status in Azerbaijan.

“The allegations that our minister held a secret meeting and issued various instructions are categorically untrue,” the statement said.

The embassy said claims had been made based on an alleged letter addressed to the Turkish parliament, containing accusations with no connection to reality. It underlined that the purported letter did not exist.

The statement stressed that references in the report on “plans to interfere in internal affairs,” “intelligence operations,” “coup and chaos plots,” and “recruiting agents of influence” were deliberate falsehoods intended to turn the Azerbaijani public against Türkiye.

The embassy called on the public of both Azerbaijan and Türkiye not to give credence to these allegations or manipulative claims that have no basis in fact.

The Qafqazinfo news website had reported that Fidan visited a foundation established by Turkish philanthropists in Baku, where he allegedly held a secret meeting and issued various instructions.

The report was later removed from the website.