Epress.am News from Armenia
Turkish President Abdullah Gul, on an official visit to Azerbaijan today, said, “it is one of priorities of Turkey’s foreign policy to prevail peace, stability and prosperity in southern Caucasus. Turkey closely monitors all developments in southern Caucasus and contributes to the efforts to ensure comprehensive and sustainable peace in the region,” reports WorldBulletin.net.
Prior to his departure, Gul told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport that during his two-day visit to Azerbaijan, he will be meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on bilateral relations, and regional and energy issues, in particular the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum gas pipeline, “the most important parts of the cooperation between the two countries.”
The Turkish leader also mentioned that Karabakh will be on the agenda as well.
“During the talks in Baku, I will underline our attitude once again that the Upper Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia should be resolved peacefully on the basis of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. We attach importance to efforts to ensure peace in Azerbaijan since we know that frozen conflicts can suddenly turn into serious regional matters,” he said.
Gul expressed hope that this visit will further deepen the two countries’ “historical, cultural and lingual unity and will add momentum to the efforts to ensure stability in the region.”