By Ruslan Rehimov
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AA) – The Azerbaijani foreign minister denied allegations Thursday that his country temporarily stopped natural gas supplies to the region under the control of Russian elements.
Jeyhun Bayramov met with representatives of diplomatic missions in Azerbaijan to inform them about recent developments in the Karabakh region where a Russian peacekeeping contingent is stationed, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Natural gas supply to the region in question is provided by Armenia and the natural gas network of that region is not integrated into Azerbaijan's," said Bayramov. "However, in case of any technical failure, Azerbaijan is ready for dialogue to resolve the problem as before.”
Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of fighting, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.
Since then, Russian peacekeeping troops have been deployed in the region.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.