BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.10
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Southern Gas Corridor is indeed a very important achievement for energy security in Europe because it helps lessen Europe’s dependence on Russia, Former US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Richard E. Hoagland told Trend.
“In fact, the first major achievement like this was the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline of the late 1990s. Currently, exploitation of Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz natural gas field will provide further natural gas that will likely help Europe’s energy security. In my personal view, another important achievement would be the Trans-Caspian Pipeline to deliver Turkmenistan’s natural gas to Europe, again not subject to Russian control, although I understand that is a complex issue that is still under discussion by both Baku and Ashgabat,” he said.
He also touched upon the current status of bilateral relations between the US and Azerbaijan amid COVID-19.
“While it is true that the pandemic has changed many things in the world, I do not see any evidence that it has seriously disrupted or changed the fundamentally strong U.S.-Azerbaijan bilateral relationship. I know that the diplomats of both countries continue their daily work to maintain this important relationship,” said Hoagland.
He pointed out that Azerbaijan has been an important partner for the United States in Afghanistan. “This has included Baku’s participation in the multi-national NATO force and, especially important, providing an essential line of communication to deliver supplies to the forces in Afghanistan.”
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