Turkish President Erdoğan Heads To Baku Amid Political Uncertainty

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will set off for Baku on June 12 at the invitation of his Azerbaijani counterpart, İlham Aliyev, to attend the opening of the first European Games.

Erdoğan's visit to the neighboring country comes at a time when his country has been facing a considerable period of uncertainty after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost parliamentary majority in the June 7 parliamentary election.

In a procedural move, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met Erdogan on June 9 and resigned, but will continue as prime minister until a new government is formed. Erdoğan is expected to ask Davutoğlu to form that government once official election results are published, which may not be until next week.

Observers suggested the June 7 vote led to a period of political turbulence not seen in more than a decade. Some of them argued that political uncertainty will likely remain high for a prolonged period.

Erdoğan was, meanwhile, set to hold a surprise meeting with Deniz Baykal, the former head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), around noon on June 10, before Davutoğlu starts talks for a new government, official sources have told the Hürriyet Daily News.

A brief statement released by Erdoğan's press office on June 10 noted that the president is expected to hold bilateral talks with leaders attending the opening ceremony in addition to holding a bilateral meeting with Aliyev.

Some 6,000 athletes will compete in the European Games, which is the first major multi-sports event of the continent and will run from June 12 to 28.

The athletes will compete in 20 sports, 16 of which are on the Olympic program and 12 of them offering qualification spots, indirect or direct, for next year's summer Olympics in Brazil.

Turkey will be represented by 192 athletes from 19 fields of sports, the Turkish presidential office also said in its release. - Istanbul