Talks between Turkey and Azerbaijan over securing gas for Europe have temporarily halted due to disagreements over Turkey’s attempts to normalize relations with Armenia, Turkey said on Tuesday.
The talks over gas supplies from Azerbaijan’s Shakh Deniz II gas project are crucial to help filling the European Union-backed Nabucco pipeline project, which aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.
“We have not talked with the Azeris for between a month and a month and a half, the fundamental issue here is politics,” said Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, speaking at a news conference.
Yildiz said it was unclear whether a previous offer to transit the Azeri gas to Europe at less than markets prices had been accepted, Reuters reported.
