Foreign

Home page

Foreign

Chief of Presidential Administrationâ€™s Department: â€œThe Caspian region is one of the most significant centers in the worldâ€

06 December 2012 16:08 (UTC +04:00)

Istanbul. Mayis Alizadeh – APA. Chief of socio-political department of the Presidential Administration Ali Hasanov made a speech at International Caspian Forum in Turkey. APA’s Turkey bureau reports that Ali Hasanov spoke about the political, economical, geostrategic position of the Caspain region and the current situation of the Caspian littoral states. He said that since the end of the last century and the beginning of this century, the Caspian region has been of great importance not only for the region but also for the energy security of the entire world. That’s why various centers of the world give much attention to this region”.

Ali Hasanov said that due to the oil strategy of Heydar Aliyev in 1994, foreign corporations, companies of the countries beyond the basin were brought to the Caspian.

"It was a very important geopolitical event. It meant that the other countries in the Caspian region would have their own oil sources and independently use them without depending on Russia or Iran. But it was easy for Azerbaijan to realize this decision. In 1994-1998 Azerbaijan was exerted much pressure on, we faced political, economic and military problems. Attempts were made to separate Azerbaijan from inside. But we were persistent and managed to defend our energy sources," he said.

Speaking about Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project department chief mentioned that there were numerous alternative projects at that time.

"But again thanks to Heydar Aliyev's determination, Azerbaijan entrusted the access key of its energy sources to Turkey. This was not only an economic decision, but also a far-sighted political decision. But for this pipeline, now there would be a queue of tankers in the Istanbul strait. Heydar Aliyev's decision on Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline also saved Istanbul from a great ecological disaster," he said.