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Mikhay Bayer: Nabucco gas pipeline will not pass via Armenia

06 October 2009 13:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Victoria Dementyeva â€“ APA. â€œThe significant development in Nabucco project can be expected next yearâ€, Hungaryâ€™s special envoy on Nabucco project Mikhay Mayer said during the round table on Nabucco project organized by the Strategic Research Center under the President of Azerbaijan, APA reports.

Bayer gave financial details of the project. He said the European Union needed in diversification of energy sources because it canâ€™t meet needs of own consumers and imports 80% of annual consumption from other countries. â€œThe import expected to reach 93% in 2017. The Nabucco project is a priority No.1 from this point of viewâ€.

Bayer said the project had no political, but commercial character and therefore it would stimulate regional energy projects. It will not face with the financial problems in the first phase. The European Investment Bank, International Financial Corporation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are showing interest to the project. EBRD promised to allocate â‚¬1 billion for the project.

Bayer said the Nabucco concept was already formed and it wouldnâ€™t be changed. â€œThe gas pipeline will pass via Turkey in any case. I donâ€™t think that it will pass via Armenia or Georgia because the concept will not be changedâ€.

Officials of the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diplomatic Academy, as well as foreign diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan attended the round table.

Ambassador Bayer led the organizing issues of Nabucco international conference in Budapest in January, 2009. He led the Hungarian delegation at the intergovernmental conference for preparing of international agreement in January-June, 2009.

Bayer was Hungarian ambassador to Yemen, China, North Korea and Moldova. He took different posts in the Hungaryâ€™s foreign ministry for long time.