Azerbaijani president visits Turkey to boost bilateral ties

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Ankara on Tuesday for a two-day visit to boost bilateral ties at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul. Aliyev is expected to hold talks with Gul and other top Turkish officials during his trip. On Wednesday, Aliyev will hold an official meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two leaders will attend the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting later in the day. Turkey has requested support from Switzerland to help resolve a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Nagorno- Karabakh so as to repair its own ties with Yerevan. During a visit to Switzerland in mid-October, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Ankara is ready to normalize relations with Armenia, while stressing Yerevan should first exit from the Azerbaijani territory it occupied, Turkey's Today's Zaman reported on Tuesday. The foreign minister said once Switzerland convinces Armenia to leave Nagorno-Karabakh, Ankara will open its borders with Armenia. Armenia and Azerbaijan have no diplomatic ties and are still technically at war because of the ongoing territorial dispute.