NEWS FROM TÜRKİYE

Sabah - Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu has suggested a “road for peace” stretching from the Caucasus to Europe, within the framework of the Turkish-Armenian initiative of normalization. The decision now rests with the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Spanning 12 nations, the 7,000 kilometer Black Sea Highway project, which will connect Istanbul to Yerevan and Yerevan to Baku, is awaiting approval by the assembly. According to the agreement, the highway, which will connect Asia to Europe, will be named the Black Sea Highway. The Highway, which will pass through 12 different countries and 24 cities, will connect the Caucasus to the Balkans and then to European highways. Therefore, the Black Sea Highway will provide the network system for accessing Europe. An individual will be able to leave Baku and access Western Europe. One thousand 985 kilometers of the highway will be in Türkiye. Every nation will have to pay for the construction costs within their borders. EU funds will be able to be used for the highway construction. According to the agreement, the cities and countries through which the highway will pass are as follows: Komotini, Alexandropoulos (Greece), Edirne, Istanbul, Samsun Trabzon (Türkiye), Batum, Poti (Georgia), Yerevan (Armenia), Baku (Azerbaijan), Novorosisk, Rostov-on-Don, Taganrok (Russia), Mariupol, Melitopol, Odessa (Ukraine), Kishinev (Moldova), Bucharest, Constanta (Romania), Haskovo, Sophia (Bulgaria), Nis, Belgrade (Serbia), Tirana (Albania).