President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who is paying an official visit to Turkey, at the Presidential Complex.
Prior to the meeting, President Erdoğan welcomed Azerbaijani President Aliyev with an official ceremony. Following the ceremony, the two leaders posed for the press and headed inside to hold their tête-à-tête and co-chair the High Level Strategic Council (HLSC) Meeting.
Holding a joint press conference with Azerbaijani President Aliyev at the Presidential Complex, President Erdoğan said: “We will soon inaugurate the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP). This inauguration, which will take place in early June, will be our glad tidings both to the world and our nation before the elections.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan held a joint press conference at the Presidential Complex following their tête-à-tête and the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting.
TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN TO CONTINUE COOPERATION IN EVERY FIELD
Congratulating President Alivey, who is paying his first foreign visit to Turkey following the elections in Azerbaijan, for his election victory, President Erdoğan recalled that he had also paid his first foreign visit to Azerbaijan after having been sworn into office, and added that the two countries will continue their cooperation and joint efforts in every field including politics, military, economy, trade and culture.
TANAP TO BE INAUGURATED IN EARLY JUNE
Pointing out that Turkey and Azerbaijan will implement new projects in the upcoming period as well, President Erdoğan described shift to trade in national currencies as the most important of these projects. Adding that they will soon inaugurate the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, President Erdoğan stated that this inauguration, which will take place in early June, will be their glad tidings both to the world and the Turkish nation before the presidential and parliamentary elections slated for June 24, 2018.
AZERBAIJAN BIGGEST INVESTOR IN TURKEY
TANAP, an important leg of the Southern Gas Corridor, will not only contribute to the natural gas transfer between Turkey and Azerbaijan but also to the energy security of the whole Europe, underlined President Erdoğan and, describing Azerbaijan as the leading investor in Turkey, stated that their primary goal is to further strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries and that there are more steps to jointly take in defense industry, too.
TRIPARTITE COOPERATION MECHANISMS
Also emphasizing the importance of Turkey’s tripartite cooperation mechanisms with Georgia, Turkmenistan, Iran and Pakistan besides Azerbaijan, President Erdoğan noted that these mechanisms play a crucial role in developing projects that are highly beneficial for the countries in question as well as for the entire region.
SHARED STANCE IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH, AFRIN
Underlining that the cooperation and the solidarity between the two countries have been continuing with the same understanding since the victory of Çanakkale and the liberation of Baku, President Erdoğan noted: “The entire world has seen our shared stance both in Nagorno-Karabakh and Afrin. Both the government and the people of Azerbaijan have supported us during Operation Olive Branch conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces. And we have seen the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as our own problem since the very beginning. It is our strong desire that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict be immediately solved within the framework of the United Nations’ resolutions on the principles of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and non-violation of its borders.”
Speaking at AK Party’s Parliamentary Group Meeting, President Erdoğan had previously said: “We will never give up our conscientious foreign policy vision, which is to back the oppressed all over the world. As a country that develops global initiatives in crisis regions such as Al-Quds, Syria, Somalia and Myanmar, we are aware of the magnitude of our responsibilities. We are determined to take greater steps in the upcoming period in order to realize our thesis that the world is bigger than five.”
President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at AK Party’s Parliamentary Group Meeting.
TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY BOTH TURKEY-ORIENTED AND OPEN TO WORLD
Stating that Turkey will continue to follow a foreign policy that is both Turkey-oriented and open to the world, President Erdoğan noted that they will shape Turkey’s relations with other countries and international organizations according to this understanding of foreign policy. Drawing attention to Turkey’s 360-degree view of the world and its efforts in order not to stay away from any economic or political formation, President Erdoğan said: “We will continue to implement our security policies on the ground by putting our nation and country at their center while also promoting justice, freedoms and humanitarian values.”
“WE WILL FURTHER DEEPEN OUR ALREADY CLOSE RELATIONS WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN OUR GEOGRAPHY”
President Erdoğan continued: “We will speed up our efforts both at the international platforms and on the ground so as to reinforce our humanitarian solidarity and cooperation and to increase the number of our friends. We will carry on our determined efforts by benefiting from the experiences we have gained from the operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch in Syria, by prioritizing diplomacy in Tal Rifaat and Manbij, and in line with our security needs in other regions. We will put into action policies in accordance with the interests of our nation and country everywhere including Cyprus, the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Thrace. We will further deepen our already close relations with our brothers and sisters in our geography extending from the Balkans to the Caucasia, Central Asia and Africa.”
“WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP OUR CONSCIENTIOUS FOREIGN POLICY VISION”
President Erdoğan added: “We will never give up our conscientious foreign policy vision, which is to back the oppressed all over the world. As a country that develops global initiatives in crisis regions such as Al-Quds, Syria, Somalia and Myanmar, we are aware of the magnitude of our responsibilities. We are determined to take greater steps in the upcoming period in order to realize our thesis that the world is bigger than five.”