Category: 2022

Ahistoric bilateral meeting took place on Saturday between the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Speaking to reporters, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu described the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan as “extremely fruitful and constructive.”

Following their one-on-one closed-door meeting, Çavuşoğlu thanked Mirzoyan for accepting the invitation to attend the forum, which he said was “open to all” and “a platform where everyone’s voice should be heard.”

“As you are aware, we have started a process to normalize our relations,” he said, citing the “positive messages” of both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Çavuşoğlu also commented on the normalization talks between the special envoys of the two countries, of which the first was held in Moscow and the second in Vienna.

“Here (at the talks), they (special envoys) also discussed the steps to be taken to normalize our relations,” Cavusoglu said, noting that he and Mirzoyan had discussed these talks “a little bit and evaluated” them.

The Top Turkish diplomat stressed that Ankara is striving “for stability and peace in the South Caucasus and we receive support from all toward our efforts in this direction.”

Çavuşoğlu also noted that Azerbaijan supports the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan.

“Stability and peace in the region is for the benefit of all of us, and we will continue to take steps in this direction,” he added, noting that he and Mirzoyan had reached an agreement to do so.

For his part, the Armenian minister said his country is determined to dedicate efforts for peace and stability in the region and that it is working to normalize relations with Turkey.

Mirzoyan also thanked Çavuşoğlu for his invitation to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, calling the move a “positive sign.”

“In our meeting, we agreed to continue the normalization process toward the establishment of unconditional diplomatic relations and the opening of borders,” he noted.

Normalization efforts are ongoing between the special envoys, underlined Mirzoyan, hoping that they bear results in the near future.

“We are glad to see that all our neighboring countries are making an effort to establish peace and prosperity in our region. And I would like to express that Armenia is ready to strive for this vision,” he added.

Turkish-Armenian relations entered a new phase after both countries appointed special representatives, which held their first meeting on Jan. 14 in Moscow.

The envoys from Turkey and Armenia, Serdar Kılıç and Ruben Rubinyan, held their second meeting in Vienna on Feb. 24 and “reiterated their agreement to continue the process without preconditions.”

The three-day high-level Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the Turkish resort city of Antalya has brought together participants from 75 countries, including 17 heads of state, 80 government ministers, and 39 representatives of international organizations. Anadolu Agency (AA) is the forum’s global communications partner.

ANTALYA, Turkiye

Azerbaijan has enough gas for its neighboring countries, as well as nations in Europe, its energy minister has said.

Amid Russia’s war on Ukraine, the US and UK announced a ban on Russian oil and gas as the EU discusses plans to end reliance on Russian gas. Many wonder if Baku can boost gas supplies to help in a smoother transition.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, said the country has 2.6 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, which he said is “enough for its neighbors and European countries.”

“The expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor project will definitely begin, and in this direction, we have started dialogue with European countries, Western Balkan countries, and other Eastern European countries,” Shahbazov continued.

All these consultations will be implemented together with Turkiye, he stressed at the three-day event in the resort city of Antalya

The high-level forum has brought together participants from 75 countries, including 17 heads of state, 80 government ministers, and 39 representatives of international organizations. Anadolu Agency is the forum’s global communications partner.

At the eighth Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, held in Baku last month, around 19 representatives of countries participated, he noted, the participants which included the EU Commissioner and Turkish energy minister agreed on expanding the gas corridor.

“Today, the Southern Gas Corridor project has great perspectives,” he said.

“Azerbaijani natural gas is exported to Europe via Turkiye through the TANAP (Trans Anatolian Pipeline) and then the TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline), which has a great capacity,” he continued.

Shahbazov said Azerbaijan has enough reserves to increase TANAP from 16 billion cubic meters to 31 billion cubic meters and to double the TAP’s 10 billion cubic meters.

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), the biggest section of the Southern Gas Corridor delivering Shah Deniz 2 gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey and onto Europe through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline project (TAP), brought its first gas to Turkey on July 1, 2018.

Oil prices and OPEC+

Amid the global energy crisis after Russia launched a war on Ukraine, the Azerbaijani energy minister said the OPEC+ organization could not “solve the political events, military conflicts and some other problems in the international arena today.”

“OPEC+’s tasks are a little different,” Shahbazov continued.

“I think that in the next meetings, the new situation will be discussed and the necessary decisions will be taken for the regulation of the international oil markets.”

Turkish-Azerbaijani energy cooperation

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited Turkiye on Thursday, where he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, discussing bilateral ties, the Russia-Ukraine war, and energy.

As issues concerning energy were at the top of the agenda at the meeting, Shahbazov said, the two leaders discussed the Southern Gas Corridor project.

Underlining that energy would be at the center of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, he said last year’s Susha Declaration between the two countries, raising of relations between Turkiye and Azerbaijan to the level of an alliance, was an indication of this.

“Azerbaijan has an estimated $19.3 billion investment in Turkey, of which $17 billion is in energy,” he said.

Zangezur corridor

Noting that Azerbaijan plans to build various projects through the Zangezur corridor, Shahbazov said it would be “important not only for Azerbaijan and Turkiye, but also for all countries of the region.”

The corridor — set to be built in the wake of last year’s Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in which Azerbaijan liberated some 300 settlements from Armenian occupation — is set to connect western Azerbaijan to its autonomous exclave of Nakhchivan.

Stressing that the Zangezur corridor would connect Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Armenia, Russia, and Iran, Shahbazov said it would be “connecting the West and the East.”

According to him, it would not only be a logistics and transport corridor, but an energy corridor as well, adding that Zangezur would be used for electricity energy exports.

“At the same time, we have bigger plans for green energy in the future. We intend to use the corridor for these purposes as well,” he said.

Shabazov also highlighted Baku’s “green energy projects” for the future.

“We also have bigger plans for renewable energy in the Hazar (Caspian) Sea. In the future, Azerbaijan will be a green energy country,” he said.

ANTALYA, Turkiye 

Newly thawing relations between Turkiye and Armenia are “at a turning point,” said a US-born Armenian political analyst after a historic meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner, Richard Giragosian, head of the Regional Studies Center (RSC) think tank in Yerevan, said Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s visit to the event was an “indication of the strategic significance that Turkey offers an important platform for international diplomacy.”

“The second reason I’m optimistic is after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we have a new geopolitical landscape and the emphasis on diplomacy over the force of arms is a shared objective of both Turkey and Armenia,” he said. “And after earlier meetings between Turkey and Armenia in Moscow then Vienna, this represents a continuation to sustain the momentum.”

A historic meeting took place Saturday between Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. It was the first high-level visit to Turkiye from Armenia after many years.

Cavusoglu told reporters that the meeting was “extremely fruitful and constructive.”

According to Giragosian, there is a much more “important demonstration of goodwill on both sides.”

“However, the coming challenge is on Turkiye and Armenia to focus now on practical steps to implement expectations of normalization, the reopening of the border and establishing diplomatic relations,” he said. “And in this context, we need to remind both sides that we don’t have the luxury of time in this war environment in Ukraine.”

He said that there is no “real progress on crucial details of the implementation of normalization.”

However, he added: “What we see now is a turning point.”

Effects of Russia-Ukraine war on normalization process

Giragosian said Antalya is the “last preliminary stage of the opening round of negotiations.”

“What we expect next are concrete firm proposals from both sides to actually begin the implementation second stage,” he said. “Having said that, we still have despite the war in Ukraine, Russia not blocking the process, and Azerbaijan still contend with allowing normalization.”

“But this is a bilateral process between Turkiye and Armenia. Hence, the need for the next meetings to return to the region itself.”

Turkish-Armenian normalization process

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Turkiye was one of the first countries to recognize Armenia’s independence on Sept. 21, 1991.

But following the 1993 occupation by Armenian forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, the border between the two countries was closed, a condition that has remained to this day. There are other contentious issues, including the events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.

On Oct. 10, 2009, the two countries signed a peace accord, known as the Zurich Protocols, to establish diplomatic relations and open the border but failed to ratify the agreement in their respective national parliaments.

Fast forward to the fall of 2020 and the end of the 44-day second Nagorno-Karabakh war, which helped Azerbaijan recapture its territory and put Turkish-Armenian relations in a new phase.

Special representatives from Turkiye and Armenia, Serdar Kilic and Ruben Rubinyan, first met Jan. 14 in Moscow and the second meeting was held in Vienna on Feb. 24, after which both sides “reiterated their agreement to continue the process without preconditions.”