Energy

Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan held important trilateral meetings in the Turkmen city of Turkmenbashi on Friday, 22 August. Joint development of deposits on the Caspian shelf and cooperation in the field of energy exports, including renewable sources, were discussed. The talks came in the framework of the visit to Turkmenistan of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Shovkat Mirzizoyev of  Uzbekistan who were hosted by the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (Senate) of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, who is a former president and the father of the current president, Serdar Berdimuhamedov. Azerbaijani media noted that during the meeting Uzbekistan hailed a scheme to export green electricity to Europe as promising, while Turkmen officials signaled a new openness to ideas long discussed in Brussels and Ankara, to build a Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, a project that has been under discussion for more than 30 years.

The visit of the Syrian leader, Ahmed al Sharaa to Baku on 12 July was short but highly significant. The discussions between al Sharaa and president Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan were substantive and covered a number of areas, including Syria's complicated relationship with Israel, and Syria's energy crises. Talks between Syria and the Azerbaijani oil and gas company SOCAR have been on-going to for several months, and during al Sharaa's visit a Memorandum of Understanding was signed, formalising the relationship. Azerbaijan is reported to be going to supply Syria with gas via Turkiye. During the discussions the possibility of using the facilities of the Turkish State energy company, Botas, was also discussed, and the plan is to use the newly constructed Kilis-Azaz-al Bab-Aleppo pipeline. According to various Syrian, Israeli and Azerbaijani sources a meeting also took place in Baku on 12 July between Syrian and Israeli officials regarding possible normalisation of relations