Zangezur Corridor project fits into  strategy of diversifying  directions of energy supplies to EU countries - expert

ArmInfo. As one would expect, having carried out ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkiye and  Azerbaijan started talking loudly about the so-called "Zangezur Corridor".

In an interview with the Turkish TV channel A Haber, Turkish Minister  of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu said that Ankara  is discussing this issue with Yerevan. "Turkiye is discussing with  Armenia the opening of the 43 km long Zangezur Corridor. It is also  possible that the corridor will be implemented by Iran. We are  thinking about quickly bringing this program to life," the minister  said.  According to Uraloglu, the new route will connect "the two  Turkish republics and the Far East with a direct line."

Commenting on this opportunity to ArmInfo, Doctor of Political  Sciences, head of the Institute of Energy Security of the Republic of  Armenia Vahe Davtyan pointed out the interest of international actors  in the implementation of this project. According to him, all the  processes that take place in the region are directly related to the  energy, transport and logistics sectors. Most recently, the European  Union signed an agreement with Azerbaijan on increasing the volume of  gas supplies to EU countries. "It is about increasing the volume of  Azerbaijani gas supplies to Europe to 20 billion cubic meters from  2027. The reason is that the existing "Southern Gas Corridor" gas  pipeline has a fairly limited throughput capacity, and the 20 billion  cubic meters that the EU intends to import from Azerbaijan after 2027  is the maximum volume," the expert noted.

He emphasized that for additional volumes, Europe needs new routes  for the supply of natural gas and other hydrocarbons from the Caspian  region. And in this regard, the Armenian region of Syunik is  beginning to acquire very important importance. "The project called  the "Zangezur Corridor", which our neighbors are trying to implement,  is not just a transport connection, it is also, as Azerbaijani Energy  Minister Parviz Shahbazov has repeatedly stated, an opportunity to  transport gas and electricity to Turkey and further to European  markets," Vahe Davtyan said.

He added that Azerbaijan has an obvious lack of resource base to  ensure all of its contractual obligations.  For that, as the expert  mentioned, Azerbaijan needs Turkmen gas, which is necessary for  re-exporting to the markets of third countries through the Zangezur  Corridor. "I am more than convinced that the Zangezur Corridor  project fits into the strategy of diversifying the directions of  energy supplies to EU countries, including in order to reduce the  share of Russian gas supplies," the expert emphasized.