Azerbaijan, Baku, April 11 / Trend A.Hasanov /
Ukraine has expressed a desire to acquire equity in the construction of the Trans-Anadolu pipeline (TANAP).
Ukraine plans to participate in TANAP, Ukraine's ambassador to Azerbaijan Alexander Mishchenko told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.
He said Ukraine is closely following the process of negotiations between Azerbaijan and Turkey
"We are ready to consider all the combinations - acceptable and possible for our partners. A positive decision on Ukraine's presence in the project has been reached at the political level. Experts will give a more realistic picture of what Ukraine can bring to this project," the ambassador said.
He said this project is interesting and important for Ukraine since energy security is "a zone of our interests." "This project affects the interests of the whole region and therefore we could not leave it unattended," said the diplomat.
Azerbaijan and Turkey plan to create a pipeline from the eastern border of Turkey to the country's western border. At present the Turkish state owned energy company BOTAS has a 20 per cent stake in TANAP, while the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) holds 80 per cent in the project.
The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters per year. About six billion cubic meters of the volume will be allocated to Turkey, while the rest will be transported to Europe. At present, Azerbaijan is on the verge of choosing the route for gas exports to Europe via Turkey. Azerbaijan currently exports gas to Turkey via the South Caucasus gas pipeline.