Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer left on Tuesday for Azerbaijan to attend the ceremony to mark the first oil flow from the beginning point of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

"The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which we consider as a bridge connecting our neighbors with the West, constitutes a concrete example of regional cooperation in the Caucasus and Caspian basin," Sezer told reporters before he flew to Azerbaijani capital of Baku.

"Turkey has pioneered this Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which is one of the most important part of the East-West Energy Corridor. The fact that 95 percent of the pipeline has been constructed so far is Azerbaijan's, Georgia's and Turkey's success as well as the partners of the project," said Sezer.

Sezer added that Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline will not only contribute to securing energy distribution in western markets, particularly Europe, but also reduce the hazardous burden on the Turkish Straits.

It is reported that 440 kilometers of the 1,774-kilometer Baku- Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline pass through Azerbaijan, 260 kilometers through Georgia, and the rest 1,074 kilometers through Turkey.

About 50 million tons of crude oil to be brought from mainly Azerbaijan via Georgia to Turkey will be transported to world markets from Turkey's Ceyhan town.

Source: Xinhua