BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 29. We have plans to build gas lines, I mean to that part of Karabakh where we are now implementing the reconstruction works, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said addressing the international conference under the motto “South Caucasus: Development and Cooperation”, Trend reports.
"And of course, we built power stations and already, not a big number but more than 20 megawatts of new power stations have been built last year. And 25 megawatts will be built this year. So, all Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur is already connected with electric lines and sometimes we had to bring these lines in the high mountains of 3.500 m which have snow 6 months a year. So, that has been done. Now, we have electricity. With respect to the area which is now under control of the Russian peacekeepers, we do not supply any energy there. But the gas pipeline which goes from Armenia to Khankandi is going through the territory which is under our control. There was recently an explosion there and for several days there was no gas and unfortunately, we were immediately accused of causing humanitarian catastrophe. Again, double standards, because when the first Karabakh war started, Armenians cut the gas supply from Azerbaijan mainland to Nakhchivan and for fifteen years Nakhchivan, the population of at that time more than 400 thousand people have been living without natural gas. And the winter there is much severe. It goes beyond 30, and nobody was accusing Armenia for causing humanitarian disaster for Nakhchivan. Only in 2005, we agreed with Iran to build a pipeline and now Nakhchivan is 100 percent gasified. But what we did, we restored the pipeline which was going from Armenia to Russian-controlled part of Karabakh, and now the supply has been restored. What it will be in the future, I don’t know. If there is a need to use our energy, I think it will be possible. It will be much easier and less costly to deliver electric energy, natural gas from Aghdam to Khankandi rather than to bring this gas from Russia, Georgia, Armenia and then Azerbaijan and Khankandi. But again, if there is such a request we will look at that," the head of state said.