Turkish, Azerbaijani parliament heads talk over phone

Turkey's Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop Monday held a phone talk with his Azerbaijani counterpart Sahibe Gafarova.

According to the Turkish Parliament Speaker's Office, Gafarova congratulated Şentop on Turkey's recently announced discovery of major natural gas reserves in the Black Sea.

"I conveyed, on my own behalf and on behalf of all members of Milli Majlis [Azerbaijan's parliament], the sincere congratulations to Mr. Şentop and all Turkish people on the discovery of a large gas field in Black Sea," Gafarova said on Twitter.

Last Friday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Turkey has found some 320 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves. He said the discovery is the biggest in the country's history and Turkey aims to have the gas ready for public use in 2023. The president added that more reserves are likely to be found in nearby areas of the Black Sea region.

Gafarove also wished Allah's mercy upon those who lost their lives in Saturday's flooding in Turkey's Black Sea region and a speedy recovery to the injured.

The death toll from flooding in the Black Sea province of Giresun rose to seven, according to Turkey's interior minister.

According to state meteorologists, the rains, which started Saturday and caused the flood, reached 137 kilograms (302 pounds) of density per square meter.