Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum (BTE) gas pipeline.
“I want to especially mention the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) and the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) projects,” he said during the interview.
“Azerbaijan also plays an important transport role between Europe and Asia,” noted Hasanov, adding that the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway, a regional rail link project to directly connect Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia, will be launched after six months, allowing the transport of goods from China to Europe and vice versa.
Further speaking, Hasanov said that unfortunately some powers in Europe are starting to pressure, to dictate to Azerbaijan what to do.
“With different countries of the EU we have a good relationship and we continue to have a good relationship,” noted Hasanov. “But in the European Parliament some powers are trying to influence the members of the European Parliament to dictate some unacceptable rules to Azerbaijan.”
Hasanov said that Azerbaijan, as an independent country, has its own policy and will not be dependent on any country.
He further said Azerbaijan held the Nov. 1 parliamentary election according to European rules and laws, but some organizations in Europe under pressure refused to observe it.
“We think the refusal to observe the election in Azerbaijan does not assist the bilateral relationship, friendship and cooperation,” he said.
Further, Hasanov assured that Azerbaijan is going to continue the policy it has pursued in the energy sphere. He said Azerbaijan and the EU have agreed on energy transport and security.
Speaking about the Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe, Hasanov pointed out that Baku and Moscow are not competitors here. “We think as colleagues in this field,” he said. “We provide Europe with alternative gas.”
“Russia has its own market and we have our own market,” said Hasanov, adding that Europe needs both Russian and Azerbaijani gas. “We also focus on Turkey and some other new markets.”
Touching upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the top official said that it is a threat to the whole world and is also a problem of Europe. Hasanov said ethnic separatism is the reason behind many of the new conflicts. He said the EU and the UN should take serious steps regarding solving the Nagorno-Karabakh and other conflicts.
Further speaking about the radical Islamism, which Azerbaijan is not known for, Hasanov said all the efforts to bring radical Islam to the country have been successfully prevented.
Talking about the effect of the tumbling world oil prices on the economy, he said that Azerbaijan’s oil income has decreased. Yet, the high-ranking official said that Azerbaijan managed to focus on the non-oil sector in the recent years, which allowed to diversify the economy and bring positive results.
More about:
