Baku, Azerbaijan, July 15
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
For 13 years, Azerbaijan and Turkey have been jointly implementing energy projects that are important not only for the region, but also in terms of ensuring Europe's energy security.
The Southern Gas Corridor and its main part TANAP are among these projects.
This project will not only provide Turkey and EU with gas, but also create opportunities for supplying "blue fuel" to European markets from Turkmenistan, Iran, and the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq.
In order to transport gas from the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, Turkey will have to construct a pipeline from the Iraqi border to one of its two provinces - Erzurum or Erzincan where this gas pipeline can connect to TANAP.
Moreover, Iran has also repeatedly expressed readiness to supply gas to Europe and allegedly, for this purpose, Tehran is ready to join the Turkish Stream. However, no matter what Iran says about its interest in the Turkish Stream project, it can't bypass TANAP.
TANAP is a project that already turns Turkey into an energy hub, which the country's authorities have aspired to achieve for a long time.
After announcing the results of the parliamentary election in Turkey, some opposition parties said that if a coalition government is formed in the country, there will be need to revise all the energy projects that are being implemented.
The opposition also didn't rule out revising construction projects, in particular the construction of new bridges, as well as the third airport in Istanbul.
Naturally, revising these projects would cause major blow to the country's image. After all, Turkey is not Greece, which revises the signed contracts.
This week, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will complete talks on forming a coalition government with the leaders of the opposition parties, which are represented in parliament.
The recent meeting of the prime minister with the leader of the Republican People's Party Kemal Kilicdaroglu was remembered by the fact that the delegations that were holding talks from both sides included the politicians who have serious influence on the country's economic life.
This once again proves that first of all, namely energy projects, in particular Azerbaijani projects that ensure Turkey's development are important for the country.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan closed the chapter on the issue of revising the energy and construction projects July 14.
He said creation of a coalition government in Turkey shouldn't affect the implementation of energy projects. "I will oppose those who speak against this."
With these remarks, Erdogan reminded the opposition about this right to veto the creation of the coalition government, and by reaffirming the significance of the energy projects for the country, he guaranteed their implementation.
Edited by CN
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Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
