What is happening between ‘one nation, two states’? The leaders are similar, but the directions are different

Behind the crisis that erupted on the Baku–Ankara axis over a dress code lie issues that have been building up for years. Aliyev’s last-minute decision not to visit Ankara serves as a message to the Erdoğan administration. The issue is neither the dress code nor relations with Israel. Despite the rhetoric of ‘one nation, two states’, the two regimes are heading in different directions. Whilst Turkey is steering towards the Middle East, Azerbaijan is heading westwards.