Turkey, Azerbaijan haggle over gas priceSeptember 26, 2008 - 19:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - They may be cultural cousins and strategic allies, but when it comes to energy exports, it's strictly business between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The two countries continue to bicker over the price and volume of natural gas to be transported by the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline in 2010, Eurasianet reports. According to Turkish media, Azerbaijan is dissatisfied with the price that Turkey wants to pay for gas deliveries. Details, such as the exact price and volume under discussion, have not been made public. News of the difficulty in the Turkish-Azerbaijani talks comes amid a push by the Russian state-controlled conglomerate Gazprom to secure a major increase in the amount of gas that it imports from Azerbaijan. The Russian company has reportedly offered to pay roughly $300 per thousand cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas, according to informed sources. In comments broadcast September 22 by the ANS television channel in Baku, Energy Minister Natik Aliyev revealed that Gazprom had made "attractive offers." He went on to indicate Baku intended to keeps its options open in response to changing global circumstances. "Due to events happing in the world today, we keep a very flexible policy in regards to security, reliability of energy corridors. Azerbaijan has many options," Aliyev said. "All offers must be considered to ensure that not only Azerbaijan's economic, but also political interests are satisfied," Aliyev continued. The Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) route is a key part of a nascent Caspian Basin energy network that operates beyond Russian control. Despite the snag concerning BTE, Turkey and Azerbaijan continue to talk about collaborative ventures. On September 9, for example, Turkish and Azerbaijani confirmed their mutual intention to move ahead with the long-planned Nabucco pipeline project. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Atom Egoyan film coming to Golden Apricot Yerevan Festival Canadian-Armenian filmmaker Atom Egoyan’s latest film, Seven Veils, is the opening film at GAIFF 2024. Armenia denies more of Azerbaijan’s ceasefire violations Yerevan has denied statements from Baku accusing the Armenian army of violating the ceasefire on the border with Azerbaijan. Israel warns of “serious consequences” after Armenia recognizes Palestine Dmitry Gendelman said the move will have “serious long-term consequences” for Israel-Armenia relations. French envoy travels to Armenia’s Syunik French ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies visited the town of Goris in the country’s southern Syunik province. |