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Turkey-Nakhchivan gas pipeline deal agreed

10 August 2009 12:22 (UTC +04:00)

As Turkish media reports, signing ceremony for the deal took place in Nakhchivan on Saturday when Turkeyâ€™s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner YÄ±ldÄ±z paid an official visit to the region.
The MoU envisions the transportation of 500 million cubic meters of gas a year, YÄ±ldÄ±z said at the ceremony.
â€œThis will spell the merging of two peoples. It will be a declaration of the will to strengthen the understanding of â€˜one nation, two states,â€™ [between Azerbaijan and Turkey],â€ YÄ±ldÄ±z was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency in a speech delivered at the ceremony. The minister also noted that relevant technical, commercial and legal negotiations concerning the deal would be carried out by Turkeyâ€™s state-owned Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAÅž) and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).
Officials from BOTAÅž and SOCAR will have their first meeting on the issue in Ankara in September. YÄ±ldÄ±z, speaking with Anatolia concerning his visit to Nakhchivan, voiced optimism over the future phase of bilateral energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Nakhchivan remains under an economic and political blockade from arch-enemy Armenia, which geographically separates the Azeri exclave from Azerbaijan proper.