14 Mar 2023 18:21

Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline is not Azerbaijan's project - President Aliyev

BAKU. March 14 (Interfax) - The construction of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline is not Azerbaijan's project, and the country is to play an exclusively transit role in it, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

"Trans-Caspian [gas pipeline] for us is not our project. In the Trans-Caspian project, we are considered to be a transitor, and we already many times, including myself, have publicly said that we are ready to provide the necessary transit for our friends and partners across the Caspian, if they decide to build the pipeline. But according to my knowledge, [...] it has not yet been resolved, because the source of financing is not determined yet," Aliyev said at a meeting with top managers of leading German businesses in Berlin.

Aliyev said there was no certainty as to who would bear the burden of financing the construction of a pipeline capable of transporting 30 billion cubic meters of gas. "It is unclear whether it will be European companies or it will be money coming from the EU," he said.

The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project has been discussed for years, he said.

"I remember at least ten years minimum that it is being discussed. While it was discussed, we built the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, Southern Gas Corridor, and we will build a green energy transmission line to Europe, and Trans-Caspian will be still discussed. So, this is the situation," he said.

As for all the projects initiated by Azerbaijan, "they already either found their completion, or definitely will be successful," he said.