STATEMENT BY AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV
“First of all, I would like to express my pleasure of being in Georgia again. I have been in Tbilisi since this morning and together with my friend Mikhail we visited a number of places here”, the President of Azerbaijan said.Ilham Aliyev noted he also familiarized himself with a newly constructed hospital and metro station.
“Today we attended the opening ceremony of a street named after nationwide leader of the Azerbaijan people Heydar Aliyev”, the Azerbaijan leader said.
President Aliyev stressed the documents, which will be signed today, are very important from the historic point of view, as well as for further cooperation between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.
Speaking on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, President Aliyev said it was constructed despite all obstacles.
“Against all the odds, this huge project is already a reality, and the Azerbaijan oil is being delivered to the world markets via this pipeline. What did help us achieve this? First of all, the friendship and fraternity between the three countries”, the President said.
The Azerbaijan leader described the signing of the documents on the beginning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Qars railway’s construction as the result of the work done jointly by Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia.
Ilham Aliyev noted the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and Baku-Tbilisi-Qars projects demonstrate the cooperation between the three countries.
“We proved that as independent countries we can live well and solve all our problems by ourselves” the Azerbaijan leader added.
He also noted Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia are experiencing rapid economic development today.
“Like the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum projects, the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Qars railway project will also bring tranquility and cooperation to the region. It will play very significant role in solving the regional projects, and it will unite us as well as the continents”, the President said.
President Aliyev also touched upon the issue of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Georgia.
“The major problem for our countries, i.e. Georgia and Azerbaijan, is to restore our territorial integrity. We are suffering from separatism and policy of ethnic cleansing, and our territorial integrity had been infringed upon. This is the hugest injustice, and this is the violation of all international legal norms. We struggle and will continue doing it to solve the problems justly and in accordance with international norms and the world practice. But we must be strong to do it. And our strength is in our unity. Your achievements please us. I have been here since morning, and I am very glad to see huge changes in Tbilisi. If you are strong, we will be strong as well. That is why, once again I want to say that the implementation of this project is a historic achievement and huge success”, President Ilham Aliyev said.
Other news in this section
