Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense dismissed as “provocation” a secretly recorded telephone conversation between prominent Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen and a man identified as Mustafa Gunay, who claimed that the Gulen movement had built ties with minister Zakir Hasanov.

“The minister of defense does not know any of these people,” the ministry said today on its website. 

In the telephone conversation, Gulen said he had sent a message of congratulations to Hasanov after he was appointed minister of defense in October. 

Gunay said the movement had been in contact with Hasanov when he was still commander of Azerbaijan's Interior Troops.

The ministry, however, denied receiving any letter from Gulen, saying the telephone conversation amounted to “provocation”.

The Gulen movement, which is at odds with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, runs a network of private schools in Azerbaijan.    

ANN.Az