European importance of South Caucasus pipelines

Special Representative of the US President on Eurasian Energy Issues C. Boyden Gray has stated at a press conference entitled ‘Caspian Energy – US, EU and Russia’ that negotiations over the pipelines in the South Caucasus should be intensified.

Gray highlighted the great importance of the Caspian Basin in providing global energy security. He also underlined the importance of the US-Azerbaijan bilateral relationship on energy security issues. He also expressed his opinion that European countries are absolutely right, when searching for alternative routes to satisfy their needs, to pay more attention to the Caspian Basin. This region may be able to satisfy EU demand for gas by 2020.