Ankara and Baku Agreed Priorities for 2015

Results of the 4th meeting of the high level Strategic Cooperation Council of Turkey and Azerbaijan were successful. This was announced at a joint press conference of the Presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan after the meeting.

"At this meeting we evaluated the bilateral activities of many of our ministers, and after that the Azerbaijani-Turkish relations. We discussed the problems of the region and the upcoming steps," said President Erdogan.

According to him, there can be no question of any problem between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The trade turnover reached 5 billion dollars, it is necessary to bring it up to 15 billion in 2023, Erdogan said.

They discussed issues of national security within the framework of regional and international issues, as well as the current situation around the Karabakh conflict.

"I want to reiterate that we will continue to vigorously provide our support to Azerbaijan for the peaceful settlement of the conflict within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Our position on this matter is resolute and we cannot retreat from that," said Erdogan.

He further noted the importance of the implementation of energy projects and, above all, the gas pipeline TANAP, which will strengthen the position of Turkey and Azerbaijan in the international arena, he said.

At the end of 2015 the railway Baku-Tbilisi-Kars will be ready, which also means the opening of the Beijing-Istanbul railway. Passengers from Western Europe will arrive at the shores of the Caspian Sea, and then - through the ports of Aktau and Turkmenbashi to Beijing, Erdogan said.

This year, Turkey will take G-20 and at its invitation Azerbaijan will take part in this meeting, he said.

"Finally, on April 24 we will celebrate together with Ilham Aliyev the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Çanakkale," said in conclusion Erdogan.

In turn, Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude for the invitation to G-20 and the anniversary of the Battle of Canakkale, calling it a measure of closeness between Baku and Ankara.

He further noted the strengthening of cooperation in the defense sector and an agreement on joint production of military products in Azerbaijan. "We have big plans to deepen cooperation in the field of defense," said Aliyev.

He further thanked Turkey for its firm support of Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict settlement. "This conflict can be resolved only within the territorial integrity. Nagorno-Karabakh is native Azerbaijani land. Azerbaijan will restore its sovereignty and territorial integrity. To achieve this, we must become even stronger," he said.

Turning to the economy, Aliyev said that until 2020 the volume of Azerbaijani investments in Turkey will reach 20 billion dollars.

The implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor will make cooperation in the energy sector involving Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia multilateral.

In this sense, TANAP is the basis of the Southern Gas Corridor, and the development of the field Shah Deniz is now the largest infrastructure project in Europe. These projects as a whole will be invested 45 billion dollars, Aliyev said. -02D-

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