Azerbaijan, Baku, June 2 / Trend A. Badalova /
It is impossible to realize the Southern Corridor project without Azerbaijani gas, U.S. State Department special envoy on Eurasian energy, Richard Morningstar said at the Center for Strategic Studies under the Azerbaijani President.
"There will not be South Corridor without the gas from Azerbaijan and, in particular, without gas from the second stage of development of Shah Deniz," Morningstar said.
He said that the projects within the Southern Corridor, such as Nabucco, ITGI, TAP, will contribute to the diversification of sources of gas and open new supply routes to Europe.
South Corridor will also provide commercial benefit to the Caucasian and Central Asian countries, he said.
Speaking about Iran as a potential gas supplier for the Southern Corridor, he said that the U.S. currently does not support and do not see the participation of this country in the project.
Morningstar also said that Russia is an important partner for the United States. He said that Russia is a key energy producer and an important player in the region. It will continue this policy.
"We want to cooperate and maintain a constructive dialogue with Russia on energy issues," he said.
He said that the U.S. welcome the progress achieved earlier on the negotiations between Turkey and Azerbaijan on the purchase and transit of gas from Shah Deniz.
"We hope that both sides will reach an agreement soon. We are convinced that the concept of the Southern Corridor will be implemented," he said.
He said the U.S. supports the creation of new export routes for the delivery of new volumes of oil extracted in Kazakhstan in the next few years.
"We welcome recent progress on the expansion of the project and are interested in working with the Kazakh government and investors to increase the supply of oil from the Caspian region to world markets via Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan Caspian oil transportation system," he said.