Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Jan 15 2015
Turkish, Azeri presidents comment on energy issues, Nagorno-Karabakh, G20
Turkey, Azerbaijan hail TANAP Project – President Erdogan says Turkey
and Azerbaijan will boost their strategic importance with the natural
gas transportation project
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey and
Azerbaijan will boost their strategic importance though the Trans
Anatolia Natural Gas Pipeline, or TANAP.
Speaking during the joint press conference with his Azerbaijani
counterpart Ilham Alivey on Thursday in Ankara, Erdogan said energy is
of great importance between the two countries.
“TANAP grew into a global project and the necessary steps have been
taken,” Erdogan said. “In providing gas pipelines and in construction,
Turkish firms weigh in.”
TANAP is projected to transport natural gas from the Azerbaijani Shah
Deniz 2 field on the Caspian Sea and other Azerbaijani fields, through
Turkey and to Europe.
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline will connect with TANAP on the east side
of the Greek-Turkish border to transport natural gas to the Italian
network.
The TANAP project is planned to originate at the Georgia-Turkey
border, to pass through Anatolia, and to extend 1,242.7 miles (2,000
kilometres) to reach Greece. It will then connect with the Southern
Gas Corridor that will carry natural gas from the Caspian Sea near
Azerbaijan to Italy into Europe.
Erdogan also reiterated that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which
provides oil transportation by passing Georgia from Baku – capital of
Azerbaijan – to Turkey, will be launched by the end of 2015.
Aliyev also underscored in the press conference the importance of the
Southern Gas Corridor.
“The Southern Gas Corridor and the development of the Shah-Deniz
natural gas field is Europe’s biggest infrastructure investment
project and worth $45 billion,” said Aliyev.
Aliyev added that Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and other countries that
will benefit from Southern Gas Corridor, should work together.
-Nagorno-Karabakh issue
Erdogan also highlighted the Nagorno-Karabakh region, over which
Armenia and Azerbaijan have an ongoing dispute.
“It appears that the Minsk Group will not take decisive action about
the issue,” Erdogan said. “It is saddening to see that although there
are international resolutions about the issue, there has been an
ongoing ‘stalling tactic.'”
Azerbaijan and Armenia, two former Soviet republics, fought a war over
the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the 1990s.
In February 1988, the regional parliament in Nagorno-Karabakh, which
is largely populated by ethnic Armenians, voted to declare its
independence from Azerbaijan.
Turkey has supported Azerbaijan in its struggle against Armenia over
the disputed region and aims to find a peaceful solution to the
conflict that has been ongoing for 20 years. Efforts have, so far,
failed and the two countries remain without diplomatic relations.
Erdogan also reiterated that Turkey will continue to support its ally
Azerbaijan in resolving the issue peacefully within the territory of
Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the Nagorno-Karabah issue, Aliyev said “Turkey supports
justice in this matter,” and added Armenia does not want peace.
Aliyev also said the Minsk Group failed to solve the problem.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group
was created in 1992 to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to
the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh
region.
OSCE’s Minsk group, co-chaired by Russia, France, and the United
States, could not achieve concrete results over the issue despite 20
years of attempts.
Referring to the Minsk Group, Aliyev said “There is activity, but no result.”
-Turkey invites Azerbaijan to G20
Erdogan said Azerbaijan will participate as a guest country in the G20
Summit in 2015, which Turkey took over the presidency on Dec. 1, 2014.
The G20, a key multinational group for tackling the world’s economic
challenges such as growth and unemployment, is a collection of the
globe’s largest economies which account for around 90 per cent of
global GDP, two-thirds of the world’s population and 80 per cent of
international trade.
The G20 summit will bring together political and economic leaders from
20 major economies, including 19 individual countries -Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia,
Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa,
Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States -plus the European Union.
“There are no other countries that are connected together like Turkey
and Azerbaijan,” said Aliyev.
Aliyev also said Turkey’s invitation to Azerbaijan for the G20 summit
shows how much the two countries are “close to each other.”
Stating that Turkey has evolved into a central power in the world,
Aliyev said “As long as Turkey is strong, Azerbaijan will be as well.”
From: Baghdasarian