Erdoğan’s first trips as president to N. Cyprus, Azerbaijan

ANKARA

AA Photo

President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s first itineraries abroad will be North Cyprus and Azerbaijan on Sept. 1 and 3 respectively, in line with the country’s state traditions.

Erdoğan, who will take the presidential office Aug. 28, will visit Nicosia, only three days after the handover ceremony and then will go to Baku to meet Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev and other Azerbaijani officials. North Cyprus stands as Turkey’s national cause and Azerbaijan is regarded as Turkey’s national ally.

Erdoğan’s next foreign policy engagement will be at the NATO Summit, which will take place in Wales from Sept. 4-5. It will mark his first multilateral appearance where he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with prominent leaders of some NATO countries. Erdoğan will also participate in the U.N. General Assembly meeting from Sept. 21-26 in New York.