What if Azerbaijan buys the gas pipeline?
According to economist, HAK representative Vahagn Khachatryan, the Armenian authorities should be concerned about Azerbaijan's intention to purchase the sector of the Russia-Armenia gas pipeline passing through Georgia.
According to him, in economic terms, this is a typical deal when a buyer wants to get income. Georgia has serious problems with its budget and has to make expenses in the year to come and that is comprehensible. However, a serious political issue is at hand. Since Armenia has inimical relations with Azerbaijan and this deal makes that gas pipeline Azerbaijan's property, according to the economist, Azerbaijan can take advantage of that when it needs to punish Armenia for something.
Vahagn Khachatryan noted that the Armenian authorities must work with the Russian "GasProm" and do everything they can to make sure that management of that sector of the gas pipeline doesn't fall in the hands of a third country. However, he doesn't see the Armenian authorities concerned about this. "It is clear that the issue of Armenia's national security is at hand."
President of Azerbaijan's state petrol committee Rovnag Abdulayev has told journalists that his committee has already appealed to the Georgian state gas company and has expressed its interest in participating in the process, if Azerbaijan privatizes or manages the pipeline.
