The construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline is not a project of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan’s role in this project is exclusively transit, President Ilham Aliyev said.
“The Trans-Caspian gas pipeline is not our project. In the Trans-Caspian pipeline project, we are considered a transit country. And we have publicly stated many times, including myself, that we are ready to provide the necessary transit for our friends and partners in the Caspian Sea if they decide to build a pipeline. But, as far as I know, the issue has not been resolved yet due to uncertainty about the source of financing,” Aliyev said in Berlin at a meeting with the heads of leading German companies.
According to him, it is still unclear who will bear the burden of the costs of building a gas pipeline with a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters. “It is unclear whether it will be some European companies, or it will be EU funds,” he said.
The President stressed that the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline project has been discussed for many years. “I remember at least the last 10 years this has been discussed. While this issue was being discussed, we have built the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, Southern Gas Corridor, we are building a green energy transmission line to Europe today, and the issue of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline will still be discussed. This is the situation,” he said.
At the same time, Aliyev added that all the projects “initiated by Azerbaijan have either been successfully completed or, without any doubt, will be successful.”
Caspian Barrel
