Armenia expresses willingness to purchase Azerbaijani gas
- 30 October, 14:29
Armenia is ready to buy gas from Azerbaijan after political issues are resolved, Armenian Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hakob Vardanyan has said.
Addressing the Silk Road forum held in Georgia on October 26, Vardanyan reminded that before the Karabakh conflict, Armenia received gas and electricity from Azerbaijan. "I hope that peace will come to our region, and we will be able to cooperate and diversify our energy systems, as in the old days.”
"In Soviet times, we received our gas from Azerbaijan through three pipelines from Azerbaijan, three huge pipelines from Azerbaijan, and now we can restore them if there are no more political problems between our countries."
The deputy minister further said that Armenia can play a role in electricity supplies from Azerbaijan to Turkey and vice versa, as well as export electricity to both countries.
The idea of Armenia purchasing Azerbaijani gas was voiced by Washington back in 1997 when the Clinton administration proposed that the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline taking Azerbaijani hydrocarbons to Europe be laid through Armenia in return to Yerevan’s concessions on Nagorno-Karabakh. However, Armenia declined this offer and refused to make any compromise. In the past, Armenia repeatedly refused Baku’s proposal to receive oil and gas from Azerbaijan in return for concessions in Nagorno-Karabakh talks.
