Erdoogan says no transport communication project realisation without Azerbaijan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ankara will continue to develop the infrastructure of transport communications with fraternal Azerbaijan.

His remarks came while commenting on the non-inclusion of Azerbaijan in the project of "revival of the Silk Road" by the Turkish opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader and Erdogan's main rival in the upcoming runoff elections Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

"Türkiye will develop the infrastructure of transport communications with the Azerbaijani brothers, despite the fact that the CHP Secretary General [Kilicdaroglu] ignores Karabakh and the Zangezur corridor," Erdogan said at a rally in Sivas province on May 23, Anadolu informs.

During his speech, he announced the construction of a high-speed railway line in Türkiye, which will stretch to Baku.

“Those who leave London will be able to reach Beijing through our country. Of course, we will implement all this not excluding Azerbaijan, but shoulder to shoulder with it,” the Turkish leader said.

On May 6, Kilicdaroglu spoke about a transport communication project spanning Asia and Europe, which he introduced as his "biggest project".

He presented in a video address a map of the East-West transport corridor, traditionally known as the "Silk Road" or the "Middle Corridor", spanning China and Europe via Central Asia and Türkiye. Kilicdaroglu's map did not feature Azerbaijan, a vital link of the corridor, replacing it with Iran, which sparked criticism in both Türkiye and Azerbaijan.

Even Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev commented on the Turkish opposition leader's project, saying the passage of this corridor through the territory of Azerbaijan was agreed upon decades ago.

"However, some did not want that. Unfortunately, even today, some want to exclude Azerbaijan from this strategic project, but their dreams will remain unfulfilled," Aliyev said, hinting at Kilicdarglu's intention to exclude Azerbaijan from the project.