Talks on Russian imports of Azeri gas coming up

The Azerbaijani government and Russian giant Gazprom will launch “detailed dialog” on gas purchases from the South Caucasus republic in the coming days, Russian ambassador in Baku Vasili Istratov said Tuesday.

Istratov said the terms for the imports would be determined during the upcoming discussions.

He reminded that the issue was high on agenda of the top-level talks held during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s official visit to Azerbaijan last week. The two countries’ presidents supported further talks on the sales of gas.

The Russian company intends to buy Azerbaijani gas for market prices under a long-term agreement. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller came up with the proposal during a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev early in June.

Azerbaijani gas is produced from the major offshore field Shahdaniz.*