On 11 August, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov conducted his visit to Turkey, marking his first foreign visit after being appointed for the position of Azerbaijan’s new foreign minister, reported Trend.
During the visit, Bayramov met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavushoghlu, and also was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the same day.
Addressing the journalists in Ankara, Bayramov said that the relations between Baku and Ankara are developing in every field in line with Heydar Aliyev’s “One nation, two states” philosophy and Ataturk’s “Azerbaijan’s joy is our joy, its sorrow is our sorrow” words.
Bayramov noted that despite the economic crisis in the world, the trade turnover between the two countries increased by 20% in the first five months of 2020. “The relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are developing dynamically in all spheres. Our trade turnover increased by 33% in 2019 compared to 2018,” Bayramov said.
Underlining that the target of 15 billion dollars in bilateral trade will be exceeded in 2023 with the impact of projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway and TANAP, Bayramov stated that the main goal of the expanding Azerbaijani-Turkish relations is to ensure regional security and stability, to increase the influence their countries in the international arena, as well as to strengthen this position.
Cavusoglu on his behalf highlighted Azerbaijan’s large-scale energy projects, especially those in Turkey. „Azerbaijan has taken the first place in our natural gas supply and we will increase the amount of gas we buy from Azerbaijan in the future," he said. He also stressed the importance of the logistics and transport projects, as well as the Turkey-Nakhchivan Gas Pipeline and Kars-Nakhchivan Railway Project, saying that the gas transported via Nakhchivan is a strategic project for Turkey.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was also on the agenda of the meeting. During the press conference, Bayramov stressed that Armenia's aggressive policy is the main obstacle to establishing lasting peace in the region. “In line with the rules of international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations (UN), the solution to the conflict is clear. Azerbaijan's stance on this issue is firm and unchangeable. This problem should be solved according to the principle of territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the borders of Azerbaijan," said Bayramov.
Cavusoglu on his behalf stated that Armenia avoids resolving the conflict and that it shows to the entire world that it hinders the formation of a safe environment for negotiations. „The international community, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group, is not making serious efforts to resolve the conflict. We support the settlement of this conflict within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and on the basis of international law. But whatever solution Azerbaijan chooses, we will stand by Azerbaijan in that issue as well,“ he added.
To note, Bayramov was appointed as Azerbaijan’s new Foreign Minister on 17 July, following the resignation of Elmar Mammadyarov (who served in this position for 16 years) after receiving sharp criticism from the President Ilham Aliyev (Caucasus Watch reported).
