Caspian Report - Issue 06 - Winter 2014

ROVSHAN IBRAHIMOV
86
A NEW PERIOD IN BILATERAL RELATIONS WAS MARKED
BY PRAGMATISM IN THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARDS EACH
OTHER.
From this point, bilateral relations
began to develop based on pragmatic
policies and in the service of both
states’ national interests. This development
track was driven mainly by
the implementation of joint regional
transportation projects. In other
words, common economic interests
started to develop. A new period in
bilateral relations was marked by
pragmatism in their attitudes towards
each other. Azerbaijan clearly understood
what Turkey can provide, but
was even more aware of what she cannot.
At the same time, Azerbaijan fully
supported Turkey and its position on
the international scene in all matters
related to its national interests. The
same position is shared by Turkey,
repeatedly becoming an advocate of
Azerbaijan’s interests in the international
arena.
This trend continued after Ilham Aliyev
was elected President of Azerbaijan
on October 15, 2003. Ilham Aliyev
continued the foreign policy direction
of his father Heydar Aliyev, while expanding
the scope of cooperation. The
economic component in the relations
between the two countries has become
increasingly strong. In major
cases, political relations have also
been formed on the basis of joint economic
projects. The construction of
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline,
which has great strategic importance,
was a milestone in this sense; the first
oil from Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli fields
began to arrive in Ceyhan on May
2005. Consequently, on December 13,
2007 Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline
was put into operation, supplying
gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz
field to the western markets. 3
Another example of cooperation between
Turkey, Azerbaijan and also
Georgia, which plays a key role in the
implementation of regional transport
projects, is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ahalkalaki-Kars
railway project. After its
completion and the construction of
the tunnel passing under the Turkish
straits, this route will provide the
unobstructed movement of trains
from China all across Europe – right to
London. 4
A NEW COURSE IN TURKISH
FOREIGN POLICY AND RELATIONS
WITH ARMENIA
Bilateral relations continue to develop
across all spheres. However, as in any
such closely interwoven relationship,
since 2008 differences on a number of
issues have begun to appear between
Azerbaijan and Turkey. The grounds
for these emerging differences were
the political and economic changes in
Turkey and Azerbaijan that resulted
from their rapid development. These
3
. Ровшан Ибрагимов, Энергетический Потенциал Азербайджана: Может Ли Он Быть
Использован Как Альтернатива России, 19.12.2006, http://www.eurasianhome.org/xml/t/expert.
xmllang=ru&nic=expert&pid=905.
4
. Ровшан Ибрагимов, Железная Дорога Баку-Тбилиси-Карс: Геополитическая Расстановка
В Регионе Южного Кавказа, 04.12.2007, http://www.eurasianhome.org/xml/t/expert.
xmllang=ru&nic=expert&pid=1353