Baku and Brussels have common interests in trans-Caspian gas pipeline, Turkmenistan keeps silence

European Commission (EC) has offered Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to renew the memorandum on mutual understanding to lay the trans-Caspian gas pipeline, Marosh Shefchovich, European Commission deputy chairman for Energy Union, said in his interview to Commersant newspaper (21.04.2015).

“Since 2011 EC has a mandate to conduct talks within the framework of the memorandum on mutual understanding with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan on construction of the trans-Caspian gas pipeline. Now we have offered Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to renew the memorandum, we are waiting for the answer and we will see how the talks will go,” he said.

EC deputy chairman said that one can expect gas deliveries from Iraq and Iran as a part of the Southern Gas Corridor project.

“Now the matter concerns Azerbaijan, but we will see the development of events in the neighboring countries, such as Iraq and Iran, considering the latest diplomatic breakthrough. We also see Turkmenistan’s growing interest in development of relationships in this field,” Shefchovich said.

* Lately interests of the EU and Azerbaijani officials on the trans-Caspian gas pipeline coincide. Local press constantly covers this issue and political scientists, experts, economists and political leaders are positive about it. Azerbaijan said earlier that the trans-Caspian gas pipeline is Europe’s project. If Europe manages to find an agreement with the gas buyer, then Azerbaijan, as a transit country, is ready to offer its infrastructure and transit possibilities with account of its own interests. But Russia is concerned about such a development of events. Russian media writes about commercial unprofitability of the Southern Gas Corridor and that Turkmenistan gas is expensive for the European consumers because of reduction of prices for the energy resources.—0—