TANAP strategic project for whole region, says Turkish PM
By Amina Nazarli
Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) is an important and strategic project, Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on the eve of his visit to Baku on June 3.
He noted that TANAP is important not only for Turkey, but for the whole region, the TRT Haber news channel reported.
"Turkey considers Azerbaijan's success in politics and economy as its own success," said Yildirim.
TANAP project envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey.
Turkey will get gas in 2018 and after completing the construction of Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), it will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.
The 27th Prime Minister of Turkey also touched upon the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying that the country must refrain
from occupational policy and begin good neighborly relations with
Azerbaijan.
The minister said that occupational policy of Yerevan led Armenia
to being isolated, adding that it is well known that Armenia shows
aggression towards its neighbors, in particular towards
Azerbaijan.
"Response to Armenia on the line of contact is a bright example of
Azerbaijan's success," said Yildirim.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a
result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council
resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the
Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Yildirim further said that Turkey, from the first day, has been
supporting Azerbaijan and will continue to do so.
Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister informed journalists about the issues to be discussed during his visit between Ankara and Baku such as energy sector including TANAP and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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