Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The successful development of bilateral relations in all spheres between Azerbaijan and Turkey was hailed as President Ilham Aliyev received visiting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The two sides held a one on one meeting on September 19, AzerTag news agency reported.

The parties also expressed confidence in the further development of bilateral ties, and exchanged views on issues of mutual interest.

Following the meeting, President Aliyev and Prime Minister Davutoglu made statements to the press.

President Aliyev said over the centuries Azerbaijan and Turkey have been together, and today they are building their own future jointly as independent states, Trend reports.

"Our political ties are developing with each passing day," President Aliyev said, adding that earlier this month Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid an official visit to Baku.

"Now we have the distinguished prime minister making an official visit. I also made my first official visit to Turkey, following the elections. Actually this clearly demonstrates the level of our relations," President Aliyev stressed.

He further said Azerbaijan and Turkey are today successfully cooperating in the sphere of economy as well, adding that as a result of mutual investments the two countries, along with ensuring their own interests, are also strengthening each other.

Touching upon the long-lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Aliyev said the problem has not been resolved yet due to Armenia's non-constructive position.

He stressed that Azerbaijan's territories recognized by the international community are under occupation.

"The ways of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement have been discussed with Davutoglu today," President Aliyev said, adding that the prime minister was briefed on the current situation in this regard.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

"Around 20 percent of our lands are under occupation. A policy of ethnic cleansing was conducted against us. More than one million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs at their native land. Unfortunately, the activity of mediators does not bring any results and international law is roughly violated by the Armenian side," President Aliyev said.

Davutoglu, for his part, noted that Turkey will fully support Azerbaijan before and after the complete liberation of its territories from the Armenian occupation.

He went on to add that Turkey and Azerbaijan will coordinate their efforts to turn the region into a region of peace.

Davutoglu expressed regret that not all countries understand the significance of the Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation, adding that the two countries intend to continue their cooperation and support each other in international issues.

He pointed out that Turkey will respond to any injustice to Azerbaijan, expressing confidence that Ankara and Baku will together achieve great success in the future.

"Each joint project started by the two countries will be completed and this will pave the way for new ones. We see no difference between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Serving Azerbaijan is equal to serving Turkey and vice versa," he said.

"Despite the unstable political situation and economic problems in a number of countries, we have witnessed development in Turkey and Azerbaijan over the last 12 years," he said.

Davutoglu said the two countries have implemented the most important economic projects, noting that Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) are the largest projects in the region.

"The joint projects of Azerbaijan and Turkey will benefit not only these two countries, but also the whole region," Davutoglu added.

He underscored that currently, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey equals $5 billion and the two countries intend to bring it to $15 billion by 2023. "Additionally, the two countries aim to increase the volume of mutual investments," he stressed.

Davutoglu went on to add that Azerbaijan and Turkey also intend to implement a number of joint projects in the sphere of defense industry.

Prior to the meeting with the Azerbaijani president, Davutoglu visited the Alley of Honors to lay a wreath at the tomb of national leader, founder and architect of modern Azerbaijani state Heydar Aliyev.

He also visited the Alley of Martyrs to commemorate Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for the country`s independence and territorial integrity. He put a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument.

The Prime Minister also visited a monument to Turkish soldiers and laid a wreath at it. Ahmet Davutoglu signed the guest book there.

After a visit to the Turkish Martyrs' Memorial in the Alley of Martyrs, Davutoglu said the Caucasian Islamic army's activity is a proof of the validity of the "one nation - two states" principle.

Davutoglu stressed that Turkey is proud of the heroism of the Caucasian Islamic Army's soldiers, adding that an independent state has been formed on the land, on which they perished.

Davutoglu is accompanied on his visit to Azerbaijan by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız.

Davutoglu will attend the ground breaking ceremony of the "Southern Gas Corridor" in Baku which is one of the most comprehensive natural gas projects in the world. Gas to be extracted from Shah Deniz will be taken to Europe via Turkey.

Prime Minister Davutoglu's visit will last two days.