U.S. 'Welcomed' EU-Azerbaijan MOU Signing — State Department

Washington on Monday welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the EU and Azerbaijan to double imports of Azeri natural gas to at least 20 billion cubic metres a year by 2027.

"The U.S. is broadly supportive of energy conversations between Azerbaijan and the EU and welcomed the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) signing," a State Department spokesperson told TURAN's Washington correspondent.

The Southern Gas Corridor transporting Azeri gas to the EU has been operational since 2020.

Natural gas supplies have emerged as a weapon between Russia and Europe since Moscow’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Early in Monday afternoon TURAN's correspondent asked State Department's spokesperson Ned Price during the daily press briefing whether Azerbaijan was a reliable energy partner given its close relationship with Russia, as well as its poor human rights records.

"We are obviously working very closely with our EU allies as well as with other partners in the region, including Azerbaijan, on the issue of energy security. We want to see a stable global supply of energy during this time. It is something that our U.S.-EU task force is working very closely on. It’s something that we’re working very closely on bilaterally with a number of countries around the world, including Azerbaijan" Price said in response.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.