Italian legislators from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies summoned the new ambassador of Azerbaijan to Italy Rashad Aslanov to get information on the blockade of Lachin Corridor, according to L’Espresso newspaper.
The article noted that the ambassador, without waiting for questions - hurried to mention the importance of the energy cooperation with Azerbaijan – the TAP pipeline supplying Azerbaijani gas to the shores of Puglia.
“What happened today morning in the Chamber of Deputies clearly proves what energy dependence from non-democratic states means for Italy. During the hearings at the foreign relations committee on the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, the newly appointed Azeri ambassador Rashad Aslanov had numerous conversations with parliamentarians within ten minutes, as well as leaders of the majority and opposition factions, presenting in advance his variants of facts, giving answers before getting questions and reminding the friendly Italians the importance of energy cooperation with Azerbaijani methane, which reaches the shores of Puglia through the TAP pipeline,” the article says.
The article mentioned that over 120,000 Armenians living in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are trapped without food, medicine and hope.
“Yesterday the Chamber of Deputies heard the Armenian ambassador, and today it was the Azerbaijani colleagues’ turn, who certainly was not happy for having to justify his government before friend/client Italians,” author Carlo Tecce wrote.
According to Tecce, estimates provided by Nomisma state that the decline of Russian gas imports was compensated especially from Azerbaijan (10,2 billion cubic meters – 3 billion more than in 2021).
“Today, the Azerbaijani investments equal to the Russian ones, and there are prospects of rapid growth,” Tecce said.
