Turkey Linked Ratification of Protocols to Progress in Karabakh to
Gain Favorable Gas Price Offer from Azerbaijan
11:43 – 15.05.10
"On May 16 Turkey and Azerbaijan will sign the much negotiated natural
gas deal. It sells Azeri natural gas to Turkey at a favorable and
discounted price. One political observer from Azerbaijan says Turkey
linked the protocols to normalize relations with Armenia to progress
in Nagorno Karabakh to make the gas deal easier," reads an article by
Armenian national Armen Hareyan in HULIQ.com.
According to the author the "gas price dispute between Turkey and
Azerbaijan took nearly two years. The protocol negotiations with
Armenia took about the same period of time. They were announced one
year ago and signed on October 10 in 2009. Assuming it took some
silent diplomacy before they were announced a year ago, it roughly
equals the same time Turkish-Azeri gas dispute was going on."
Further Hareyan writes that Turkey and Azerbaijan are now "very close
to conclude their deal" as on Mary 16 the prime minister of Turkey Mr.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be in the capital of Azerbaijan Baku to
conclude the two years old gas dispute and sign the deal.
"This was a dispute that to a serious degree strained the relations of
Turkey and Azerbaijan, two close allies. Yet, Turkey kept dragging the
protocols to normalize relations with Armenia and artificially linking
it to progress on Nagorno Karabakh," writes the author.
Hareyan further mentiones that Turkey will now pay $250 per 1,000
cubic meters to Azerbaijan. Baku had earlier sought 300 dollars per
1,000 cubic meters of natural gas.
"Turkey paid the price burying the protocols with Armenia and made it
easier to get a favorable natural gas deal from Azerbaijan. What will
Azerbaijan offer in return after the deal is signed? Will Azerbaijan
offer a political dividend to Turkey by taking a more realistic and
constructive position on Nagorno Karabakh, remains to be seen in the
upcoming months," writes Hareyan.
Tert.am