Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 17 / Trend /
Greece intends to sign bilateral agreement on direct gas purchase with Azerbaijan, said on Feb. 17 in Athens the Prime Minister of Greece, Kostas Karamanlis, RIA Novosti reported.
"Our country is prepared to sign commercial contracts on gas supply directly from Azerbaijan," Karamanlis said, opening Greek-Azerbaijani business forum with the participation of the Presidents of Greece, Karolos Papoulias and Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev.
Karamanlis did not name the periods of the envisaged signing of agreement. He repeated that Greece was interested in the realization of the projected TGI gas pipeline, which must connect Turkey, Greece and Italy, and via which, gas, including Azerbaijani, will go to Europe.
Karamanlis called upon the Greek companies to establish business in Azerbaijan, and emphasized that during Aliyev's visit to Athens, the sides signed a number of important economic agreements. Greece and Azerbaijan agreed to avoid double taxation, to co-operate in technological sphere. In addition, the countries signed memorandum of understanding in renewable energy sources.
Greece, Azerbaijan, Italy and Turkey participate in the project of TGI transit gas pipeline, which, as designers plan, will connect Turkey with Western Europe and will be one of five basic ways of gas transport to the European Union. This project also must make Italy, Greece and Turkey large transitors of natural gas from the Caspian Sea, from the Middle East and North Africa.