EU Looks to Strengthen Ties with Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan

Europe will try to overcome Russian resistance via gas agreements with Turkmenistan through Azerbaijan, European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič told the Financial Times.  

Capitalising on the reduced Gazprom’s imports from Turkmenistan, the Commissioner sees room for increasing ties with Ashgabat. He said that Brussels would cooperate on a political and regulatory level. 

Šefčovič met with Turkmen ambassador on Monday, trying to fasten negotiations. He also said that he will support the TAP project, sending a clear message to Azerbaijan, reassuring Baku about European intentions to foster cooperation with the Caspian country.

“We have learnt the lessons from Nabucco. This project failed because there was not enough political support. We simply believed that this project would happen just because of the business interests” he said in the interview to the British newspaper.