Turkish official: Gas dispute with Azerbaijan lingers on over Armenia
Agreement between Turkey and Azerbaijan on exporting Azerbaijani
gas has not yet been reached due to the ongoing normalization of
relations between Turkey and Armenia, Azerbaijan’s long-time foe,
Turkey’s Vatan newspaper has quoted the country’s energy minister
as saying.
Taner Yildiz told reporters that Ankara is currently discussing
three issues with Baku: setting a new price for the imports of 7
billion cubic meters of gas a year from Azerbaijan, the volume and
price of gas to be purchased in the coming years during Phase 2 of
developing Azerbaijan’s Shahdaniz offshore field and fees for the
transit of Azerbaijani gas delivered to European markets.
The minister said there was no problem with agreeing upon these
technical issues with Azerbaijan, but noted that a challenge
remains with the Armenia issue, referring to Ankara’s efforts to
mend its ties with Yerevan, which have been strained for decades.
Azerbaijan says Turkish-Armenian normalization is unacceptable so
long as Armenia continues to occupy a part of its territory.
"Despite having stated that a solution not approved by Ilham Aliyev
will not go down well with Turkey, either, I think we have not
managed to amply convey this stance to Azerbaijan. For this reason,
it has not been possible to reach understanding on the gas issue so
far," Yildiz said but added that he believed the two countries
would reach agreement.
Azerbaijan began exporting its gas to Turkey in April 2007. The
price was initially set at $120. However, the gas supply contract,
concluded between Turkey and the partners in the project on
developing Azerbaijan’s giant Shahdaniz field in the Caspian Sea,
stipulated that the price may be reconsidered a year after the
start of gas deliveries. Thus, the new price should have gone into
effect on April 15, 2008. Azerbaijan and Turkey have been
negotiating the issue since then, but have yet to reach agreement.
Baku is seeking a price charged in world markets but Ankara insists
the price should not exceed $200. Since a new contract has not yet
been concluded, Azerbaijani gas is still being exported for
$120.*
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