Azerbaijan to supply gas to Khankandi, nearby settlements
By Ayya Lmahamad
Azerbaijan’s Azerigaz Production Association has stated that the natural gas supply to Khankandi and other nearby settlements will be fully restored on March 29.
The association stated that the natural gas supply will be restored on March 28th, with preliminary testing taking place. In this regard, consumers are advised to use natural gas with caution and to strictly adhere to technical safety rules.
“The supply of natural gas to the territory of the Karabakh economic region will be fully restored after the completion of test work on March 29,” the statement said.
In recent days, the Armenian media has portrayed the gas supply problems on these territories as some kind of “sabotage”.
It is noteworthy that all of this coincided with the release of new information about the peace talks. As a result, it appears that Armenia is once again using fabrications to postpone the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, as well as the opening of communications and the Zangazur corridor.
However, it is quite obvious that the malfunction of gas distribution lines in the territories included in the Karabakh economic region, which have been operating without maintenance for many years, has caused problems with gas supply.
Furthermore, despite the heavy snowfall, Azerigaz employees dispatched to the site are taking the necessary steps to mitigate the effects of the accident on the difficult terrain.
Another point worth noting is that the gas supplied to Khankandi is not Azerbaijani, but rather Armenian. The pipe is located on Azerbaijani territory, and Azerigaz has accepted responsibility for resolving the issues that arose as a result of Armenia's fault.
“Gas is delivered to the territory where Russian peacekeepers are stationed temporarily from Armenia. After occupying a portion of Azerbaijani territory during the First Karabakh War, the separatists destroyed the gas pipeline connecting Aghdam and Khankendi, effectively cutting themselves off from the Azerbaijani gas network,” the Baku-based news website Day.az wrote.
Earlier, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that Armenia intends to use the situation as a tool for political manipulation.
“We would like to remind that Armenia, which for many years kept the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with a population of more than 400,000 people in a gas blockade, carried out water terror using the Sarsang reservoir for about 30 years, denied the existence of landmine maps that put an end to the life and health of hundreds of people for a long time, concealed information about the fate of about 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing in the early 1990s, and now makes baseless accusations against Azerbaijan - this is nothing but the political hypocrisy of this country,” the ministry stated.
The ministry also underlined that the only way to ensure peace and stability in the region is the full implementation of the provisions of the joint statements, including the complete withdrawal of the remnants of Armenian illegal formations from the region and the normalization of relations on the basis of the principles of international law.
Once again, technical accidents on gas pipelines are a common problem that occurs all over the world. The same problems often arise on the Armenian territory as well. In addition, there had also been problems with gas supply to Khankendi in the past, when Azerbaijani territories were under occupation.
As a result, looking for hidden motives in the issue of gas supply to Khankandi is pointless, and it is clear that Armenia is only attempting to postpone the signing of a peace agreement.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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