President Aliyev: "Azerbaijan may bring oil output to 60-65 mln tons in 2 years"

"Azerbaijan will become a donor country. We shall help others, and the time for it is not far off," Ilkham Aliyev said in an interview with the influential Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, which was circulated by official channels here on Monday.

According to Itar-Tass, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan was turning into "a very important country" thanks to its oil and gas reserves. According to his information, Azerbaijan will produce annually 60 to 65 million tons of oil within two years. "According to the estimates of the World Bank, revenues to our treasury will amount to 140 billion dollars within the coming 20 years. This means that all the problems facing Azerbaijan will be resolved," Aliyev said.

Aliyev believes there is one more reason for Azerbaijan's growing importance: key transport routes connecting the East and the West go by its territory. In his opinion, this permits to pursue an independent policy in all spheres. "We do not depend on anybody. Neither do we need help of any other country, or will need it in the future," he said. At the same time, Aliyev believes that along with the growth of interest in Azerbaijan, "pressure exerted on out country will also grow." "We have to stand the pressure, however, and we are standing it," he said.

Aliyev stressed that the strengthening of the country promoted the concentration of various interests there. "This is our job to channel those interests in the direction, which would be positive for us, for the well-being of the Azerbaijani people," he said.

/AzerNEWS/