Azernews.Az

MOSCOW – Azerbaijan plans to increase oil supplies to Ukraine, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovich in Kiev on Thursday, Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"We have already increased oil supplies to Ukraine… this year, and the year isn't over. More than a million tons of Azerbaijani oil has been supplied to Ukraine's markets. And we plan to increase oil supplies, as Azerbaijan intends to boost oil production," President Aliyev told a joint press conference. He did not cite any figures.

Russia’s Kommersant newspaper quoted a source at the Ukrainian energy ministry as saying in early October that the country’s imports of Azerbaijani oil could reach 5 million tons. In 2009, Ukraine imported about 560,000 tons of crude from the South Caucasus republic.

Aliyev also noted that in future oil from the neighboring countries located on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea could be supplied to Ukraine via Azerbaijani territory.

"This project will facilitate the full integration of the countries of the Caspian and Black Sea regions. Thus we will create another very reliable energy corridor that will connect the Caspian Sea, [which is] flush with energy resources, with the markets of Ukraine and Europe."

Ukrainian President Yanukovich said his country’s energy cooperation with Azerbaijan would be aimed at filling the Odessa-Brody pipeline, a project that seeks to carry Caspian oil to European markets.

"All of our further steps will be aimed at filling the Odessa-Brody pipeline and launching it in the reverse mode," Yanukovich said.

The Odessa-Brody pipeline is one of Ukraine's most ambitious projects since independence in 1991. Built in 2002 and designed to carry Caspian oil to Europe with a capacity of up to 14 million tons per year, the pipeline stood idle for two years and was reversed in 2004 to ship Russian oil. The conduit, which links the Ukrainian cities of Odessa at the Black Sea and Brody near the Ukrainian-Polish border, could serve as an additional route to deliver Azerbaijani oil to Europe.

President Aliyev said prospects for expanding comprehensive cooperation with Ukraine were very promising.

"We once again affirm our intention to actively cooperate on the issues of intensifying political relations and consultations, supporting each other within international organizations, and on regional affairs, particularly integration in the Caspian and Black Sea regions."

President Yanukovich said the parties had agreed to establish a joint taskforce that will draft a strategic agreement. The contract will envision a surge in Azerbaijani energy supplies to Ukraine, Yanukovich said. He did not rule out that this cooperation could be joined by third parties, such as Russia, a Caspian littoral state.

Azerbaijan and Ukraine said in early October that they intend to sign a strategic cooperation plan for 2011-2015. Kiev said the document will cover collaboration in the fields including the military, space industry, transport, machine building, the fuel and energy sector, agriculture, education and culture.

Yanukovich expressed confidence that bilateral trade will increase "not by a percentage but many times".

"This is a result of mutual efforts. Our task is not to confine to what we have achieved and to continue mutually beneficial work. Ukraine is currently Azerbaijan’s second biggest trading partner. And we certainly want to improve this indicator."

Trade turnover between the two countries made up $1.04 billion in January-August 2010, nearly tripling in comparison with the same period of last year.

Azerbaijan invested $22 million in the Ukrainian economy in the first half of 2010.

Following President Aliyev’s one-on-one meeting with the Ukrainian leader in Kiev, the council of the two countries’ presidents held its second meeting. The discussions concluded with the signing of a joint statement of the two leaders. Also, the Azerbaijani and Ukrainian foreign ministries signed an agreement on cooperation in archiving.