July 6, 2009 - 13:50 AMT
Azerbaijan does not refuse participation in Nabucco
Agreement for the sale of Azeri natural gas signed between Moscow and Baku will not impede Nabucco implementation, Head of Azerbaijan State Oil Company (SOCAR) Rovnag Abdullayev said.

"The agreement contains no points that could restrict Azerbaijan's participation in Nabucco," Interfax cited Abdullaev as saying.

According to him, Russia is one of Azerbaijan's partners in gas sale sphere. "It's a mutually beneficial agreement," he emphasized.

Baku and Russia signed an agreement listing the basic terms of a contract for the sale of Azeri natural gas during President Dmitry Medvedev's working visit to Baku. The agreement envisions Gazprom initially purchasing 500 million cubic meters (bcm) of gas from the country starting from 2010.

The Nabucco pipeline is a planned natural gas pipeline from Turkey to Austria, diversifying the current natural gas suppliers and delivery routes for Europe.