Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 6 / Trend, A. Akhundov /
Russia has no questions concerning Azerbaijan's position on the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladimir Dorokhin said at a meeting of the Caspian-European Integration Business Club (CEIBC) today.
"This question is the subject of the negotiations on the status of the Caspian Sea, which has not been agreed upon," Dorokhin said. "There are Russian and Iranian positions. They believe that Trans-Caspian pipelines can be built if the environmental assessment is agreed upon by all Caspian littoral countries. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan believe that the environmental assessment must be approved only by the parties involved in a particular project. We believe that it would not be appropriate to launch any specific projects until the Caspian littoral countries agree upon these issues themselves."
He added that Azerbaijan's position is to serve as a transit territory.
"The position is clear and does not cause any questions," he said. "So, any assumption that there is tension between the country and Azerbaijan on the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline is wrong."
Two documents which must be signed at the level of the Azerbaijani, Turkmen presidents, head of the European Commission and the governments of the two Caspian-littoral countries, are being prepared within the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project, Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natiq Aliyev told media today.
He said that the first document will support the corridor by three sides. The second document must be signed between the Azerbaijani and Turkmen governments.
Turkmenistan expressed its support for the project implementation. This means the Turkmen side is ready to deliver around 30 billion cubic meters of gas for this project. Azerbaijan is ready to ensure all conditions for Turkmen gas transportation.
"That is Azerbaijan again supports its participation in the project and will be actively involved in this issue," minister said.
Negotiations on the construction of the pipeline between Turkmenistan, the EU and other countries have been held since the late 1990s.
The negotiation process has been intensified after the European Union delivered a mandate to start negotiations on the preparation of an agreement between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the Trans-Caspian project in September 2011.