Türkiye and Azerbaijan are laying the foundations of a new era in the region, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday.
"With Azerbaijan, we are laying the foundations of a new era in the region. Things will accelerate as Armenia shows progress in peace, security and tranquility," said Erdoğan at an event in the eastern province of Erzurum.
Türkiye supports efforts aimed at the normalization between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar also said Thursday.
Referring to a deal signed by Azerbaijan and Armenia after fighting a 44-day war in September 2020 over Karabakh, Akar said with the signing of the agreement, Türkiye has done "its best to ensure peace and stability in the region and to create an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity in the entire Caucasus."
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a 44-day war in September 2020 over Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
The war, which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal, saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.
While Türkiye supports the normalization between Azerbaijan and Yerevan, it has been also taking steps for better ties with Yerevan and further cooperation among the regional actors in the Caucasus region.
Ankara has made frequent calls for a six-nation platform comprising of Türkiye, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia for permanent peace, stability and cooperation in the region, describing it as a win-win initiative for all regional actors in the Caucasus. Türkiye believes that permanent peace is possible through mutual security-based cooperation between the states and people of the South Caucasus region.
Erdoğan also emphasized that Türkiye was preparing for the most important breakthrough in its thousand-year-old history in the region under the vision of the "Century of Türkiye" initiative.
In late October, Erdoğan, who is also the chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), unveiled a series of programs, projects and targets ahead of the next year's presidential and general elections as the country prepares to celebrate its centennial in 2023.
"On the one hand, we are strengthening our relations with the Islamic world. On the other, we are integrating with the Turkic world. Meanwhile, we are uniting with Africa and the Balkans," he said, adding that Ankara has not forgotten its ties with Russia, China, Ukraine, and the United States, either.
Noting that the eastern Erzurum province is one of the most critical locations allowing Türkiye to become a hub for oil and natural gas transport and trade from Asia to Europe, Erdoğan said Türkiye is "resolving conflicts and tensions in the Caucasus, which are the biggest obstacle to the effective use of the region's potential, one by one."
He affirmed that Türkiye was "working round the clock" to connect the gas it discovered in the Black Sea to its national grid.
"On Monday, we will share the good news with our nation," he said, adding that Türkiye would receive more good news once the Black Sea gas is in use.
Türkiye discovered 540 billion cubic meters (19 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas in the Black Sea. Türkiye's ships, Fatih, Yavuz and Kanuni, continue drilling operations in the Black Sea.