AZERBAIJAN QUIETLY LENDING IMPETUS TO NABUCCO PROJECT
The Washington-based Jamestown Foundation`s publication, the Eurasia Daily Monitor, has issued an article “Azerbaijan quietly lending impetus to Nabucco project” by political analyst Vladimir Socor.
The article says Presidents Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov of Turkmenistan and Abdullah Gul of Turkey met on November 29 in Turkmenistan to discuss trilateral cooperation with a focus on natural gas deliveries. Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov held bilateral talks in Ashgabat before meeting in the trilateral format.
Azerbaijan had initiated this meeting as part of its efforts to support the Nabucco pipeline project for Caspian gas to Europe.
The article also says the European Union and U.S. government finally seem to realize that energy infrastructure projects of strategic scope make subsidies from Western governments and institutions necessary.
While Brussels and Washington have backed Nabucco mainly at the rhetorical level until now, Azerbaijan supports the project through deeds rather than words. Azerbaijan`s role is crucial as the designated supplier of gas for Nabucco`s first stage and as a transit country for Turkmen gas in the project`s second stage.
Azerbaijan`s leadership has reaffirmed its strategic choice in favor of supplying Nabucco and the Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline with gas. The Turkey-Greece-Italy Interconnector, fully relies on Azerbaijani gas.
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