The European Union is preparing to sign a gas export agreement with Azerbaijan without any conditions to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian energy carriers.
The “strategic partnership” between the European Union and Azerbaijan envisages “supply of Caspian natural gas to the European Union and, most likely, the Balkans,” according to the draft agreement, which was seen by the Brussels-based EUObserver.
According to the document, annual gas supplies of 20 billion cubic meters are planned until 2027. The media notes that tangible investments will be made for this, the “Southern Gas Corridor” network will be expanded.
In the draft of the agreement, the parties do not refer to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in any way, instead, the “frozen conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia” is mentioned. The parties support each other’s territorial integrity, the inviolability of international borders.
The representatives of the European Union did not specify when the memorandum will be signed, but they said that the EU Commissioner for Energy Affairs, Kadri Simson, will leave for Baku at the end of July to continue the negotiations.
EUObserver, which is close to the European Union, emphasizes: “Azerbaijan is an oil dictatorship, which has been ruled by one family for decades, has a catastrophic situation in the field of human rights, but the draft of the EU memorandum does not mention this.”
