The main topic of the recent summit of the three presidents in the city of Avaza was the transit of Turkmen gas to the European market through Azerbaijan and Turkey. The summit took place on the Turkmen part of the Caspian Sea with the participation of Presidents Aliyev, Erdogan and Berymukhammedov.
The project affects many European countries and Russia. The implementation of the project will bring great benefits to some countries. Turkey and Azerbaijan benefit of the transit of gas through their territory, and European countries benefit of the solution of energy problems during the crisis. However, there is another country that had no interest in this project from the very beginning. Russia does not see any positive in building a gas pipeline for itself, since it could lose much more than gas customers.
The current situation and possible consequences were explained by the portal Hronikatm.com.
Turkish President Erdogan said at a meeting in Avaza: “In this regard, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor stand out. We transport Caspian gas to Europe along this corridor, which is based on the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline. Now we must start working on transporting Turkmen natural gas to Western markets in a similar way,” the portal cited the Turkish president as saying.
This statement was interpreted by many as an intention to build a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan through the Caspian Sea.
The Middle East Eye edition cites another quote from the head of Turkey, in which he already directly says that the parties are studying the possibility of building a new gas pipeline: “Now our colleagues are discussing whether it is possible to build a new pipeline and what steps should be taken.”
However, already on December 16, Russian Senator from Astrakhan Oblast Alexander Bashkin commented on the Astrakhan News website and stated that Russia would not give consent to the construction of a gas pipeline across the Caspian Sea, writes another Turkmen news portal.
The Russian senator bluntly states that the real reason for the refusal is Russia's desire to prevent Europe from finding alternative sources of gas, but the pretext will be Russia's concern about the negative environmental consequences for the Caspian.
“In Europe <…> the prospects for the construction of a trans-Caspian gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Baku have again been discussed with the aim of its further transportation through Turkey to Europe. Some Western experts, rubbing their hands happily, say that this is the key to freeing Europe from the so-called dependence on Russian gas.
You need to know that according to the document on the status of the Caspian, signed by the five Caspian states, consent to the implementation of projects that are sensitive in the field of environmental safety must be given by all the states of the Caspian five. In other words, any project in the Caspian Sea must be carried out on the basis of consensus. Due to the possible threat to the environmental security of the Caspian Sea, represented by the underwater part of the gas pipeline, Russia will not be able to agree to its construction,” Bashkin said. In other words, any project in the Caspian Sea must be carried out on the basis of consensus, and Russia most likely will not give its consent to the implementation of the project.
The senator tried to reassure the Turkmen side by saying that "any volumes of oil produced in this friendly state of our country are fully capable of being accepted by China, India and Russia."
Note that the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea was adopted in 2018. A number of experts hastened to declare that it would now be possible to lay gas pipelines across the Caspian without the consent of all parties. However, this turned out not to be the case. The Convention adopted by all parties is rather an obstacle to the construction of the trans-Caspian gas pipeline than progress in this matter, experts say.
Thus, Turkey's intentions to pull up the transportation of Turkmen gas through the Caspian can be seriously hindered by the Convention itself, using which Russia will have reason to object to the construction of the gas pipeline.
Meanwhile, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry stated that the construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline along the bottom of the Caspian Sea does not require the consent of all the Caspian countries. Ashgabat believes that the legal uncertainty of the legal status of the Caspian has not yet prevented countries from concluding bilateral agreements on the use of the sea.
The Turkmen Foreign Ministry has said it supports the EU's planned mediation of talks between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to speed up construction of the Trans-Caspian pipeline, the Associated Press reported.
That is why Russia is trying with soft statements to influence not only Turkmenistan, but also the other participants in the project and show them its negative position. To begin with, Russia's objections were raised by regional politicians, albeit within the Russian Federation Council. It is not yet clear when the Kremlin will join this topic. Most likely, this can be resolved after discussions between the top leaders of the three Caspian countries with Moscow.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
December 19, 2022