Aliyev: "Azerbaijan's gas supply cannot be compared with Russia's supply"

"The volume of gas we supply cannot be compared with the gas supply by Russia," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais in Brussels on December 14, Report informs.

"Although we meet regularly throughout the year and have frequent telephone conversations, to be honest, we have never discussed this issue with President Putin. He never raised this issue because I think this issue of competition is exaggerated. The volume of gas we supply cannot be compared with the gas supply by Russia," he said.

Ilham Aliyev stressed that Russia's exports to Europe amount to 100 billion cubic meters, and this figure is growing: "As I said, our exports to Europe are not competitive, and we have never seen it as competition. It was a commercial project for us. Today, the internal profitability of the Shah Deniz field, which is a source of gas supply to Europe and other countries as the pipelines and infrastructure are ready, has increased. That is, it has become very attractive in terms of commerce. We have huge gas reserves, and we needed a market. Where could the market be for us? It could not be Russia because Russia itself is an exporter. It could not be Georgia either because it does not need much gas. It could be Turkey, then Europe. That's what we did. Exports to Turkey started in 2006. The volume increased, and then exports to Europe began. It was a commercial project for us, but it was politicized. Unfortunately, it made no sense. The Russian Federation and its leadership understand the true nature of the issue. Our gas is by no means an alternative. This is just the extra volume that consumers need. For example, today, our gas supplies meet 20% of the need in Turkey and about 90% of the need in Georgia. As our gas is already transported to Europe, we will meet a significant part of the needs of some EU member states."