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Azerbaijan destined to play more active role as country becomes closer to Balkans - Jamestown Foundation

Politics Materials 25 April 2023 14:15 (UTC +04:00)
Azerbaijan destined to play more active role as country becomes closer to Balkans - Jamestown Foundation

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 25. Having become a stakeholder in the Balkans with the establishment of the Southern Gas Corridor and its Balkan segment TAP, Azerbaijan is destined to play a more active role in the region and become a potential hub for transporting crucial energy resources into the Balkans and beyond, Trend reports citing the Jamestown Foundation.

This is stated by the Director of Topchubashov Center, a Baku-based think tank, Rauf Huseynov, and Communications Manager, Samira Hajizada, in their joint article published in the Jamestown Foundation.

As noted in the article, on April 13, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev paid an official visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. While there, Aliyev met with his counterparts, the members of the Bosnian tripartite presidency, Željka Cvijanović, Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić.

According to the article, despite the shortness of the visit—President Ilham Aliyev departed on the same day—it was considered quite successful as Azerbaijan gained “one more strategic partner in Europe”, with the leaders of the two countries signing a joint declaration on forming a strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The authors outlined that Azerbaijani-Bosnian relations have intensified in recent years: Azerbaijan sent humanitarian aid to Bosnia during the pandemic and elevated its diplomatic mission in Sarajevo to an embassy in 2021. Moreover, the Azerbaijani side also invested in a medical center in Banja Luka, as well as a Friendship Park and medical institution in Sarajevo.

"For its part, Sarajevo has also taken the initiative in bolstering relations with Baku. For example, President Ilham Aliyev thanked Bosnia for its support during the Second Karabakh War in 2020. And as a result of those talks, Sarajevo decided to open an embassy in Baku," said the article.

With the expansion of bilateral ties, the authors believe, President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina fits into a broader framework, with Azerbaijan increasingly pivoting toward the Balkans.

According to the article, Azerbaijan does and can play a crucial role in terms of ensuring energy security for individual states, both in the EU and in the EU's direct neighborhood.

Furthermore, it is noted that as the EU is interested in providing and maintaining stability and security on the continent, it attaches great importance to Azerbaijan’s involvement in the Balkans (and Italy). This importance was reaffirmed in October 2022 by the historic visit to Baku of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who called Azerbaijan a game-changer in European energy security. Later, Von der Leyen also participated in the opening of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria meant to deliver Azerbaijani natural gas directly to Bulgaria.

"At present, Azerbaijan is working quite closely with Bulgaria and Greece in the Balkans: at the end of 2022, it was announced that the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) had safely transported over 18 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to Greece, Bulgaria and Italy since the start of commercial operations in 2020. Bulgaria, which has a contract for 1 bcm of Azerbaijani gas, or one-third of the country’s annual needs, wants to increase that volume by up to 1 bcm more per year following the suspension of Russian gas flows to the country," the article said.

However, as the authors noted, this is only scratching the surface as there is a huge potential for other projects, including the construction of the Gas Interconnector Romania-Serbia, which could also reduce regional dependence on Russia with the help of Azerbaijani gas.

The Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), which is currently under construction, will have the capability to transport Azerbaijani gas from Albania to Croatia via Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina before delivering it to Central Europe, provided the necessary financial and political support is established, the authors said.

"Thus, amid the current geopolitical developments in Eurasia, Azerbaijan has a historic chance to extend its influence in the Caucasus and Caspian Sea region both eastward (Central Asia) and westward (Balkans). Increased energy supply to Europe and further development of critical connectivity projects (Middle Corridor) will only serve to elevate Baku’s aspirations and opportunities," the article concluded.

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