Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced on Wednesday that Turkey will begin exporting Azerbaijani natural gas to Syria’s Aleppo province starting August 2 via the southern Turkish province of Kilis.

Speaking at a press briefing hosted by Anadolu Agency, Bayraktar also stated that Turkey plans to supply Syria with approximately 900 megawatts of electricity, sufficient to meet the needs of around 1.6 million households, once the necessary technical and legal procedures are completed.

The gas export initiative follows a memorandum of understanding signed on July 12 between Damascus and the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR during an official visit by Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shara to Baku.