TURKISH-AZERBAIJANI TIES MULTIFACETED

Ankara, 2 June (AzerTAc). In his TV address to the people, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted strengthening of the ties with Azerbaijan.

At his words, his visit to Baku on 12-13 May, once again indicated how strong the fraternal ties between the two nations are. The Turkish Premier remembered his meetings with the Head of Azerbaijan State, parliamentarians. “We shall continue to support peace and stability in the Caucasus, making stress on the Nagorno Karabakh problem”, he stated. “But no one should have any doubt that we shall back up the interests of Azerbaijan as ours.”

The Turkish Premier said: “The Turkish-Azerbaijani ties are multifaceted and in rise. In the latest four years, bilateral trade turnover has increased by 40 percent and in September 2008 the figure exceeded $2 billion.” According to the Premier, his country is the first to invest in the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan ($3 billion). The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum projects successfully function. The volume of oil to transport via BTC will reach 1,6 million barrel. These projects are symbol of fraternity of the two nations, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “Our relations will always continue on the ground of friendship and fraternity and there is no opposite of it,” he emphasized.