Construction of a pipeline to transport natural gas from Azerbaijan and Turkey and on to Europe is likely to start by the end of 2014, Turkey's prime minister said on Friday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's cabinet had paved the way for construction by nationalizing the area where the pipeline would pass through.

Aliyev said: "We expect to open the TANAP in 2018 with my brother Erdogan. This project will contribute to our bilateral relations to a significant extent."

Aliyev said the project would also contribute to the relations of the two states with neighboring countries.

The pipeline was announced in November 2011 at the Third Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum in Istanbul and the two leaders signed a binding intergovernmental agreement on the pipeline in June 2012.

ANN.Az