ARMENIAN-TURKISH PROTOCOLS CAUSE FURTHER CONTROVERSY IN AZERBAIJAN
Lilit Gevorgyan

World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
Oct 21 2009

On 16 October, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated that Azeri
government officials will seek different buyers for Azeri gas. The
announcement relates to an offer by Turkish state officials, which
Aliyev rejected as 30% below the level of international prices and
thus unacceptably low.

Significance: On the surface, Aliyev’s statement seems to be an
entirely business-driven decision. Yet, given the strong bond between
Azeri and Turkish officials, it is driven by a political incident
that is causing great unease among Azeri officials (seeTurkey –
Armenia: 12 October 2009:). Azerbaijan deems Turkey’s move to open
the joint border with Armenia as an act of treachery towards Azeris,
who are still in fierce dispute with Armenians over the fate of the
enclave Nagorno-Karabakh. On 15 October, Aliyev signed a gas supply
agreement with Gazprom which would channel Azeri gas through Russia’s
South Stream gas pipeline. The move has alerted the European Union
(EU) and may cause problems for its Nabucco pipeline, a rival to
the Russian South Stream which should alleviate the EU’s reliance
on Russian gas exports. The protocols are highly controversial in
Turkey and Armenia as well. On 16 October, between 6,000 and 10,000
protestors in the Armenian capital Yerevan urged the parliament not
to back the peace agreement. Various Turkish top officials have tried
to mitigate Azerbaijan’s concern by pledging not to open borders with
Armenian unless the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute is resolved.