Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said that Armenia’s July attacks on border Tovuz region where important energy lines pass through, shows Yerevan’s commitment to policy of aggression.

Shahbazov made the remarks at the First Caspian Europe Forum on “The Caspian region and its role in the world economy” held in Berlin in a video format.

“The recent Armenian military provocation on the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border, where the Baku-Supsa, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Southern Gas Corridor, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and other lines connecting region with the West are located, are a vivid example of this. Once again, Armenia has demonstrated its commitment to its aggressive policy by resorting to a planned military provocation,” the minister stated.

Commenting on the recent clashes on the line of contact, Shahbazov said that “Armenia once again demonstrated commitement to its aggressive policy by resorting to a planned military provocation on September 27.”

“Having stopped the peace talks, Armenia reaffirmed that it persists in its choice of self-isolation from the regional development projects and the desire to preserve a permanent dangerous atmosphere in the region,” the minister said.

Shabazov emphasized that Azerbaijan as a country that directs all its energy and opportunities to development and stability in the world and is interested in the sustainability of its achievements, wants to solve the conflict peacefully.

“The thirty years was long enough period for Armenia to understand this fact. However, Armenia has not appreciated the opportunity provided to it. Armenia’s policy aimed at continuing occupation and aggression is aimed not only at Azerbaijan, but also at regional development and security. Therefore, we must try to stop the aggression in the region,” the minister added.

Furthermore, the minister noted that the Caspian region will remain in the geopolitical interest of regional and world power due to it rich energy resources located at the intersection of two major energy markets- Europe and Asia.

Moreover, it was noted that Caspian energy resources are directed to the West only through pipelines initiated by Azerbaijan. Thus, since commissioning, about 515 million tons of oil and over 86 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas have been transported through these pipelines.

“Full commissioning of the Southern Gas Corridor by the end of the year will again make the Caspian region an important factor in diversifying energy supply to Europe and ensuring energy security through Azerbaijan,” the minister said.

Assessing the sustainability of Europe’s energy ties with the Caspian Sea as a strategic necessity, the minister noted that Azerbaijan is a reliable bridge between the Caspian Sea and Europe.

Likewise, it was noted that the share of the Caspian countries in Azerbaijan’s total trade turnover was 18 percent, while the share of the European Union was about 39 percent in 2019.

Furthermore, the minister emphasized that Azerbaijan contributes to strengthening the region’s role in the world economy through international transport corridors and infrastructure.

Thus, the volume of transit cargoes carried by Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway increased by 4.5 times, along the East-West corridor increase by 15 percent, during the first half of 2020, compared to the same period of 2019. In addition, the volume of cargo transit along the North-South route increased by 13 percent during the reporting period.

Overall, transit transportations through Azerbaijan in the non-oil sector increased by 33 percent during the first six months of 2020.

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