Azatutyun.am – Armenia should consider importing natural gas from Azerbaijan, parliament speaker Alen Simonian said on Thursday.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reportedly did not rule out the possibility of gas supplies to Armenia this week after securing more territorial concessions from Yerevan.
“I consider it a very good thing,” Simonian told reporters when asked to comment on that statement. “I have a very positive attitude to that. I think we should discuss that issue.”
Simonian cautioned that the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments have not yet discussed the issue.
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“I read about it today. I will talk to my colleagues about it. I don’t know what their reactions will be,” added the senior member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team.
Armenia imports the bulk of its natural gas from Russia at prices that have long been set well below international market-based levels. Relations between the two longtime allies have been steadily deteriorating, with the Armenian government seeking to forge closer ties with the West. It is also keen to reach a peace deal with Azerbaijan.
To that end, Pashinian’s administration has agreed to hand over several contested border areas to Baku without securing any Azerbaijani territorial concessions in return, The move has sparked angry protests by residents of nearby Armenian villages joined by people from other parts of Armenia.
Armenian opposition leaders say the land handover will create severe security risks for not only those communities but also the entire country. Simonian dismissed the opposition criticism, saying that Baku will recognize the first small section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
