Gul and Azeri counterpart Aliyev dismiss leaks as contray to strong bilateral ties

President Abdullah Gul and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, meeting for the first time since leaked documents reported that Aliyev had criticized Ankara, yesterday denied the alleged remarks as uncharacteristic of the strong Turkish-Azeri relationship. On the sidelines of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Kazakhstan, the two leaders discussed the currently stalled Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Speaking later to Turkish reporters, Gul said Aliyev denied the alleged remarks contained in confidential US diplomatic documents released this week by online muckraker WikiLeaks. Gul said Aliyev expressed his dismay over the cables, adding that the remarks are "contrary to" Azerbaijan's current cooperation with Turkey on energy projects. "Why wouldn't Aliyev want energy lines to go through Turkey?" Gul asked. "The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is working. This brings them a great deal of income. If the Nabucco gas pipeline also goes through Turkey, Azerbaijan's energy resources will reach lucrative markets." Gul added, "I told him (Aliyev) not to worry. Even if he hadn't said they weren't true, we didn't believe them anyway."