Turkish PM’s address to the nation praises country's role in region

In a televised address to the nation, Tayyip Erdogan said that the successful field exercises recently carried out by Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, was a proof of Turkey's power.

"We have seen one more time that the Turkish army is an important power not only in national defense but also as a force contributing to world peace," Erdogan said.

Pointing to Turkey's unique geographical position, the prime minister said that the country developed strategies in order to benefit from the advantages of such position in the best way.

"The region we are located in gives us the opportunity to act as an energy corridor and terminal between the energy markets of the Middle East, the Caspian Sea and the West," he said.

Erdogan said that Turkey participated in remarkable projects in the East-West energy corridor such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline project and Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline project in an effort to contribute to the energy safety in European and world markets.

Commenting on the latest developments regarding the Nabucco project as well, Erdogan said that the agreement regarding the construction of the pipeline would be signed by the relevant countries in June.

"We expect the pipeline to start operating in 2012," Erdogan said, adding that the pipeline would have a 31 billion cubicmeter annual capacity.

Expressing nation’s increasing energy need, Erdogan said Turkey was a country that took action, made plans and took measures in advance against the energy issue which would become a major problem in the future.

"Despite all the negative developments in the world, Turkey is proceeding on its way in a determined manner," he said.

Regarding the global economic crisis, Erdogan said that Turkey's economy administration as well as the private sector's resistance and efforts helped the country succeed in its fight with the crisis.

Noting that positive developments were currently taking place in economic indicators, Erdogan said, "Everybody should frankly accept that Turkey has been very successful during the global crisis which shook the world hard with its negative effects".

Commenting on the talks he held in foreign countries throughout May, Erdogan said that especially his visit to Azerbaijan showed how strong Turkey's relations with this country were.

Erdogan said Turkey would continue to support efforts aiming to establish peace and stability in the Caucasus region.

Erdogan also said that he hoped his talks in Poland would bring this country closer to Turkey, adding that his visit to Russia enabled Turkish and Russian officials to discuss important matters and cooperation opportunities.