ANTALYA–Turkey (Reuters)–Azerbaijan President Haydar Aliyev headed on Wednesday for his capital Baku from Turkey–where he had been recuperating from heart surgery.
Witnesses said a jet carrying the 76-year-old former communist chief took off from the resort town of Antalya on Turkey’s south coast at around 11 a.m.
Aliyev underwent heart bypass surgery in the United States in April.
"His health is very good," an Azeri embassy official told Reuters–confirming that Aliyev was headed for Baku.
Aliyev dominates the Caucasus country and his prolonged absence has put economic and political life there on hold.
He has overseen the signing of deals with major oil companies worth some $50 billion in potential investment to develop the country’s oil reserves.