ZARDUSHT ALIZADE: TURKISH-IRAQI AGREEMENTS NO THREAT TO AZERBAIJAN
News.am
14:40 / 10/16/2009
"The Turkish-Iraqi agreement on gas transportation to Europe does not
constitute any threat to our gas projects with Europe. We already have
the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas main and the Nabucco pipeline will be
its continuation. That is, this pipeline cannot do without Azerbaijani
gas," the political analyst Zardusht Alizade told 1news.az agency.
"Yesterday we signed an agreement with Gazprom, and no one in the world
reproached us for doing so, as it is our sovereign right — we sell
our gas to whoever we like. The same applies to the Turkish-Iraqi
agreements. As a matter of fact, a realistic and active policy is
being implemented in the region – each country is acting in its
own interests.
"Let us not deny the fact that the West has recently strengthened its
influence on our region. A new geopolitical situation has developed,
and Azerbaijan has to work to avert any threat to our interests I think
we should intensify our activities in the ‘Western direction’, without
forgetting about Russia. This country is our great neighbor, and we
not only should, but also ought to strengthen bilateral relations. That
is we are going to have very much work in various fields now.
Besides, I think that we should deepen our relations with Turkey. It
has launched a realistic policy, so we should take a realistic view of
the situation as well and implement our policy in our own interests,"
Alizade said.