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Azerbaijan's MFA comments on the statement made by the CHP MP

Leyla Abdullayeva, head of the Press Service Department of Azerbaijan

03 February 2022 17:35 (UTC +04:00)

Head of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MFA), Leyla Abdullayeva has answered the question of the local media regarding the interpretation of the accusatory statement of the Republican People's Party (CHP) MP Aykut Erdogan, APA reports.

MFA official said the following about the completely baseless accusations made by Aykut Erdogan, a member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly from the Republican People's Party, about energy relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as against the two presidents: "First of all, we would like to emphasize that Azerbaijan and brotherly Turkey, as in all areas, have open, completely transparent and mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of energy.

The huge and strategic Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP) is an invaluable infrastructure project to address energy security issues, based on the strong cooperation, friendship and brotherhood of Azerbaijan and Turkey, and the strong political will of the two countries' leaders.

The total investment in the TANAP project is $ 6.3 billion. The number of jobs provided during the project reached 15,000 at peak times, and most of the investment was provided by local producers. It should be noted that the TANAP project has provided great added value to Turkish industry and relevant sectors. We would like to emphasize that the tariffs adopted in this project fully meet all international standards. The Turkish side is also earning the same amount of transit revenue as it is a 30% partner in the project through BOTAS.

We would like to note that Turkey, along with Azerbaijan, imports natural gas from Russia, Iran, Qatar, Nigeria and other countries. Among these producers, the price of natural gas supplied by Azerbaijan is the lowest. Another important point here is that the existence of the TANAP project at a time when natural gas prices are at their peak and gas shortages are growing, while creating new opportunities for Turkey in both the economic and social spheres, ensures the sustainability of Turkey's energy security.

As for Petkim, one of the largest enterprises in Turkey, SOCAR Turkey, a subsidiary of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Republic of Turkey, won a completely open and transparent tender in 2008 with an investment of $ 2 billion 40 million. In the following years, the total amount of additional investments in Petkim reached $ 1.2 billion.

At the same time, the construction of the STAR refinery on the basis of a multibillion-dollar investment of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan and its integration with the Petkim petrochemical plant has created conditions for the production of additional $ 2 billion worth of products in the Republic of Turkey. Thus, in Turkey, $ 2 billion was previously spent on the import of these products.

The friendly and fraternal relations between Azerbaijan and the Republic of Turkey, created as a result of joint efforts of the country's leaders, have enabled Azerbaijan to invest more than $ 19 billion in Turkey to date.

We reject the completely baseless accusations made by the CHP MP against the allegedly "mixed and dark ties" between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey. The relations between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan are fraternal relations based on the national interests of the two countries. As a result of these relations, the strategic partnership between the two countries has been further strengthened, raised to the level of alliance with the historic Shusha Declaration, and the bonds of brotherhood between the two peoples have been strengthened as never before.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a CHP representative has taken an anti-Azerbaijani position and tried to confuse baseless allegations. However, these attempts have no prospects, because the manipulation of any pro-Armenian politicians can not overshadow the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations.

The Azerbaijani side apologizes for the baseless accusations made by the CHP MP. Otherwise, we reserve the right to raise the issue on a legal level."