2024-01-11 16:14:00
There are calls in Europe to stop gas cooperation with Azerbaijan. And if this happens, it will not be the Azerbaijanis who will suffer. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated this in a conversation with the country’s television channels.
Azerbaijan has become an important supplier of gas to Europe, and the export of green energy will further increase the country’s importance for the EU, he told reporters Ilham Aliyev.
“Unfortunately, some European politicians either do not understand this or do not have sufficient information. After the September events, some of them declared the need to stop gas cooperation between Azerbaijan and Europe. Such statements do not strengthen our cooperation. True, such a statement was made by the President of the European Parliament. The European Commission has never made such statements and, of course, will not do so in the future. But the position of President of the European Parliament is not a small position, and if the person holding it says this, then there is something to think about. But I must immediately note that if for some reason this position prevails, the companies that have entered into long-term contracts with us will have to pay fines amounting to hundreds of millions, or even billions, of euros. Therefore, those in charge who make such absurd statements should be more careful,” the President of Azerbaijan noted.
He noted that Azerbaijan receives much less income from gas exports compared to oil exports.
“In principle, if we assume that today we do not export gas, the average citizen is unlikely to feel this. But if for some reason our gas supplies to Europe stop, many countries will find themselves in a more difficult situation, and everyone in Europe should understand this, including the President of the European Parliament, who makes irresponsible statements,” added Ilham Aliyev.
In 2023, supplies of Caspian gas from Azerbaijan to Europe increased slightly and reached 11.8 billion cubic meters. In July 2022, Baku and the European Commission signed a memorandum on strategic partnership in the energy sector, which provides for doubling supplies by 2027. This year the EU plans to completely abandon Russian fuel.
As reported EADaily , On September 19, Azerbaijan announced an “anti-terrorist operation” in Nagorno-Karabakh. During the day of fighting, the Karabakh side lost about two hundred people killed and more than 400 wounded, several thousand civilians were evacuated from the combat zone, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers. More than one hundred thousand Karabakh Armenians rushed along the Lachin corridor to Armenia. As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army agreed to lay down its arms and disband, and the President of Nagorno-Karabakh Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on the dissolution of government agencies and the termination of the existence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Republic of Artsakh) from January 1, 2024.
After this, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the actions of Azerbaijan and called on the EU authorities to impose sanctions on individuals in the country and stop the memorandum of energy cooperation. Head of the European Parliament Robert Metsol stated that the European Union should not buy gas from Azerbaijan, since it cannot move from one unreliable partner to another.
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