LINKS CALLS ON EU TO INCREASE PRESSURE ON ARMENIA
news.az
Sept 29 2011
Azerbaijan
EU should increase pressure on Armenia to withdraw its troops from
Azerbaijani territory, said LINKS Executive Director.
On 26 September, Labour Party Conference delegates in Liverpool
attended a fringe debate entitled ‘Russia, Azerbaijan and the West:
what does the New Great Game mean for Europe’s energy security?’
organised by The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS), in association
with Progress.
The panel comprised Wayne David MP, Shadow Minister for Europe;
Richard Howitt MEP; Charles Grant, Director, Centre for European
Reform; and Dennis Sammut OBE, Executive Director, LINKS. The Chairman
was Mike Gapes MP.
According to Mr David, the UK remains the largest foreign investor
in Azerbaijan, largely due to the BP investment of $23bn (£14.8bn)
in the country since 1994. He revealed that the UK government
had repeatedly acknowledged the importance of Azerbaijan to the UK
economy. Mr David went on to explain the Western European requirement
for energy security, and expressed the hope that the Southern Energy
Corridor, bringing Caspian resources to Western Europe, would receive
UK support for its construction. Mr David also stressed his backing
for the OSCE Minsk Group, tasked with achieving peaceful resolution
of the ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict over the Azerbaijani
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven adjacent regions.
He stated that Azerbaijan could still progress, and added that the EU
European Neighborhood Programme had only been partially successful
in the country. Mike Gapes observed that Baku had rapidly developed
since the advent of the second oil boom in 1994, and that the country
had to ensure the income from oil and gas resources was invested to
achieve future economic diversification.
Mr Gapes went on to cite the Norwegian Model, as that country had
sought to invest its income from the extractive industries in a
sustainable manner. Richard Howitt revealed that 80 per cent of
Armenian energy infrastructure was Russian-owned, whereas Azerbaijan
has a reputation for stability and a strong relationship with the EU.
He went on to ask if the EU was ready to meet the challenge of creating
an integrated energy policy.
Dennis Sammut explained that Azerbaijan still had to decide its
strategy regarding organization of its energy future. He revealed that,
since the inception of the second oil boom, a decision had been made
regarding collaboration with the West, as opposed to Russia, regarding
exploitation of its natural resources. He said that it was important
to understand that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline had been
constructed by the BP-led Azerbaijan International Operating Consortium
(AIOC) to transport Caspian resources. Mr Sammut went on to comment
that Azerbaijani success had been achieved and good relations with
Russia had been maintained.
He referred to last week’s news that the EU was aiming to ratify
an agreement with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to construct a new
Trans-Caspian pipeline. He also renewed calls for a peaceful and
just resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, requesting that
the EU should increase pressure on Armenia to withdraw its troops
from Azerbaijani territory. Mr Sammut acknowledged that Azerbaijan
remains a well-organized country, having derived sufficient profits
from the energy sector to achieve progress.
He concluded that the EU has a unique opportunity to take the
relationship with Azerbaijan to the next level, and reported
that Total had found enormous resources of gas in the Caspian Sea,
necessitating further EU engagement with Azerbaijan. During a lively
question-and-answer session, Mr Sammut expressed his hope that
a unified EU would speak with one voice during negotiations with
Azerbaijan on the proposed Trans-Caspian pipeline.