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Roland Kobia: â€œNext round of the trilateral negotiations on the establishment of legal basis for the Trans-Caspian project will be held in Brussels or Viennaâ€

11 April 2012 08:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Victoria Dementieva â€“ APA. â€œThe European Union hasnâ€™t changed its position on South Corridor project. We want to realize this project in a short timeâ€, Head of EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Ambassador Roland Kobia told journalists, APA reports.

Asked about the delay of agreement on TANAR project last month between Turkey and Azerbaijan, Kobia said that the European Union supported any energy project which would transfer gas to Europe: â€œAs regards TANAR project, we heard that the agreement hasnâ€™t been signed yet, but we hope in finding the best decision on this project. It is very important for us that TANAR is a specialized infrastructure that will transfer gas to Europe. Secondly, this project could be developed when Azerbaijan will increase the volume of gas export and Turkmenistan will transfer gas to Europe via Azerbaijan and Turkey in the future. This pipeline is profitable both for Azerbaijan and Europe. We share common purposes of European markets and SOCARâ€.

The ambassador noted that the sides must determine which projects will be realized: â€œThere are commercial issues as well. The European Union doesnâ€™t intend to interfere in these issues.â€

Kobia commented the discussions on legal basis for the realization of Trans-Caspian pipeline and said that the negotiations are being continued: â€œIt is normal, because it takes a definite time. The last round was held several weeks ago and definite progresses were achieved. The next round of the negotiations will be held in Brussels or Vienna in the next few weeks. We welcome the participation of both Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan in the negotiations. We also welcome SOCARâ€™s statements, which say that Trans-Caspian gas pipeline is a bilateral issue between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and it will not create any legal or environmental problem. We think that this project concerns only the two countries and no one should interfere in this matter. There are already thousands kilometers of pipelines in the Caspian Sea and we donâ€™t think that Trans-Caspian pipeline will have serious effect on the environment of the Caspian Sea.â€

The ambassador noted that no one of the projects is directed against anyone: â€œThese projects are being carried out in favor of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Europe.â€