SOCAR Appeals to the West for Energy Supply Assistance, Armenian Side Assures Regional Security

State oil and gas company SOCAR of Azerbaijan has appealed to the West for assistance in exporting energy resources, as the pipelines from Azerbaijan to Georgia are located in a conflict zone. This was reported by Reuters.

Elshad Nasirov, head of investments and marketing at SOCAR, stated at the Caspian Political Center conference that clashes have occurred near SOCAR's infrastructure, particularly around the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Baku-Supsa oil pipeline, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline.

Nasirov also noted that the trans-Adriatic pipeline, which is part of the last segment of the Southern Gas Corridor, includes two other pipelines running through Georgia and Turkey.

“I will invite our partners to Washington to discuss and present how important this region is, and we need to think about how to ensure the military and physical security of these areas,” Nasirov said.

It is noteworthy that yesterday, during a sidewalk briefing in Tavush, Defense Ministry representative Artzruni Hovhannisyan responded to a comment that Azerbaijani experts claim Armenia intends to strike their strategically important infrastructure. He stated that this is a new propaganda thesis directed at the external audience following Azerbaijan’s defeat.

According to Hovhannisyan, this is a false thesis circulated by Azerbaijan. “We state that the oil and gas pipelines passing through this region belong to international companies; let them be assured that Armenia is a provider of security in the region, not a consumer. The Republic of Armenia can better ensure their security than anyone else in this region,” he emphasized.