President Erdoğan exchanges Bayram greetings in phone calls with world leaders
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Ankara, Turkey, Aug. 15, 2018. (Reuters Photo)


President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday exchanged greetings for the Islamic holiday of Qurban Bayram, also known as Eid al-Adha, with other world leaders.

Erdoğan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev exchanged greetings for Bayram in a phone call, the Azerbaijani Presidency said earlier today.

Aliyev and Erdoğan expressed their satisfaction with the strong relations between the two countries and stressed that this will continue, the statement added.

The leaders cited ongoing large-scale joint military exercises between Turkey and Azerbaijan as another sign of the warm relations between the two countries.

Aliyev also said his country appreciated Erdoğan's steadfast support for Azerbaijan in the face of recent military provocations by Armenia, the statement added.

Turkey’s Communications Directorate said that Erdoğan also exchanged holiday greetings with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Turkmenistan’s president.

The two leaders stressed their commitment to improve bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation on regional issues.

Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also exchanged greetings on the eve of Qurban Bayram in a phone call Thursday.

Later in the day, Erdoğan also held phone calls to extend congratulations for Eid al-Adha with leaders of Iran, Algeria and Tunisia.

The Turkish president and his counterparts Hassan Rouhani, Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Kais Saied also agreed to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation in regional issues, a statement from the Presidency said.

On Sunday, Erdoğan also spoke over the phone with his counterparts from Kosovo, Afghanistan and Indonesia.

According to a statement by Turkey's Directorate of Communications, Erdoğan exchanged Bayram greetings with Kosovo's Hashim Taci, Afghanistan's Ashraf Ghani, Indonesia's Joko Widodo and Bosniak Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sefik Dzaferovic.

The leaders underscored the countries' commitment to improve bilateral relations and strengthen cooperation on regional issues.

Most Muslim-majority countries around the world, including Turkey, are observing the four-day holiday starting on Friday.