Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Azerbaijan for a brief visit one day after starting a new term in office with enhanced powers.
After the visit to Azerbaijan, Erdogan was set to head to the breakaway northern part of ethnically divided Cyprus later on July 10.
On July 9, Erdogan was sworn in and appointed a new 16-member Cabinet, including his son-in-law Berat Albayrak as treasury and finance minister. Under the new system approved in a controversial referendum, the office of the prime minister was abolished.
As Turkey's first executive president, Erdogan now can rule by decrees, outline the state budget and announce a state of emergency.
Longtime Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's first foreign trip after securing a new term in an April election was to Turkey.
The two nations have close ties and a common foe in Armenia, a mostly Christian country sandwiched between predominantly Muslim Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Opponents of Erdogan and Aliyev say they have remained in power by suppressing dissent, violating human rights and democratic norms, and staging votes that are not free or fair.
