Azerbaijan interested in building new energy partnership with EU - Aliyev's aide
BAKU. July 8 (Interfax) - Energy is a key element of Azerbaijan's cooperation and partnership with EU member states, and Baku is interested in building a new energy partnership that requires long-term contracts, Azerbaijani presidential aide, head of the presidential administration's foreign policy department Hikmet Hajiyev said.
"At present, Azerbaijan supplies gas directly to eight European countries. In total, our gas is supplied to 12 European countries. We have proven many times that we are a reliable partner. Besides, there are no political connotations whatsoever in gas and energy cooperation. This is a strictly commercial matter, pure business. Of course, energy security of our partners is important to us," Hajiyev said in an interview with the Slovak media outlet Hospodarske Noviny.
Slovakia has imported a certain amount of Azerbaijani gas, Hajiyev said. "We are ready to expand our cooperation and supply additional amounts of gas to Slovakia. However, that would require a new level of cooperation with the European Union, especially in terms of infrastructure. Azerbaijan has vast gas reserves in the Caspian Sea, but the capacities of the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline or the Southern Gas Corridor are full. We need to expand them technically," he said.
"Besides, Europe needs gas. Therefore, both sides should be realistic about this matter. Given the current global reality, we would like to build new strategic energy cooperation based on the memorandum of understanding we signed with the EU [in July 2022]. Yet, we need long-term contracts in order to implement it. The ball is in the EU's court. We are awaiting its reaction," Hajiyev said.
Azerbaijan is not planning to compete for consumers with anyone, Hajiyev said. "We are not competing with Russia over who is going to satisfy European needs - our reality is completely different from Russia's. We have our own capacities and I believe that Azerbaijani gas can help the EU to lower pressure on energy security of its eastern flank," he said.
"This is crucial for such countries as Slovakia, Bulgaria and others where energy consumption, especially that of gas, amounts to 1 billion - 3 billion cubic meters a year, or maybe a bit more," Hajiyev said.
There is a number of impediments to further expansion of energy cooperation with the European Union, he said.
"I believe we should start with putting aside what I would call green populism or even fanaticism. We think that green and renewable energy are the future for all of us. But we need to stay realistic. Our industries need energy they could afford. There is simply no real alternative to gas nowadays. This is a chief component of the transition to green energy. This is how we should view it. Being a responsible and reliable partner, Azerbaijan is ready to cooperate in this process," Hajiyev said.
