Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, “With this agreement, we have reached an agreement to transport Turkmenistan natural gas to Turkiye via Azerbaijan and Georgia.”
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar attended the Turkiye-Azerbaijan Cooperation Agreement Signing Ceremony in the Field of Natural Gas held in Istanbul with Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Cabbarov.
Speaking at the press conference following the ceremony, Bayraktar emphasized that the strong determination demonstrated by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is the most concrete evidence and guarantee of bilateral cooperation, recalling that the bilateral strategic partnership reached the level of strategic alliance with the Shusha Declaration signed on June 15, 2021.
Bayraktar pointed out that the Shusha Declaration constituted a road map for the cooperation between the two states, and said that they saw many reflections of the cooperation, especially in the economy and energy, as well as in the fields of diplomacy and military.
“Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline is extremely important for world markets”
Noting that the two countries have jointly developed many projects so far, Bayraktar said, “The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline is of paramount importance for the supply of Azerbaijani oil, especially the oil from the Caspian region and the Caucasus geography, to Turkiye and to the world markets via Turkiye. This is a very important project for the world oil market, frankly, for the balance of the world oil supply. We have put forward this with the strong will of the two countries, and until today, oil reaches the world through this line without any problems.”
“We reached an agreement to deliver Turkmenistan natural gas to Turkiye”
Reminding that the two countries developed the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Natural Gas Pipeline and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), Bayraktar continued as follows:
“With this exemplary cooperation, Turkiye and Azerbaijan contribute significantly to both our own supply security and Europe’s energy supply security. Especially with the agreement we signed today, our relations reach a new dimension in the field of natural gas. There are many issues in this agreement. Within this agreement, we foresee that additional gas volumes of Azerbaijani resources, natural gas, and natural gas from Caspian resources will reach Turkiye by 2030, and some natural gas will reach Europe via Turkiye. However, a new issue, an important issue, is that, as a result of this agreement, we have reached an agreement on the transportation of Turkmenistan natural gas to Turkiye via Azerbaijan and Georgia.”
Bayraktar stated that the Igdir-Nakhchivan Natural Gas Pipeline, which will deliver natural gas to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, is a new “brother” to the pipelines jointly developed by Turkiye and Azerbaijan. “Hopefully, this winter, Nakhchivan’s natural gas will be delivered via Turkiye. We plan to put this line into operation as soon as possible. Our construction activities will obviously be nearing the end.”
Bayraktar pointed out that with the agreement signed today, they discussed 2030 and beyond with guest Minister Cabbarov regarding increasing the capacity of TANAP and South Caucasus natural gas pipelines. “Of course, we will carry out joint studies together on the expansion of connection capacities in both Bulgaria and Greece, especially at European connection points, in order to provide more gas supply of Caspian resources to Turkiye and Europe via Turkiye. Therefore, we signed such a comprehensive agreement with our Minister today. This agreement has shown once again that we will continue to reinforce the strong brotherhood and cooperation of these two countries with these agreements, God willing.”
Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Cabbarov also emphasized that Turkiye and Azerbaijan are two brother countries and said that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline brings together the brother Turkish states in Central Asia.
Cabbarov stated that today’s agreement reveals the policy of implementing long-term, large and politically visionary projects developed by the two countries, and pointed out that Turkiye-Azerbaijan cooperation contributes to Europe’s energy security.
Referring to the importance of the Igdir-Nakhchivan Pipeline, Cabbarov pointed out that with the natural gas to be sent to this region, the energy security of Nakhchivan as well as the Turkiye-Azerbaijan brotherhood will be strengthened.
Cabbarov added that the investments in question are a result of the stabilization processes in the Turkish economy.
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz