Baku and Astana have not agreed all the issues on Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan

Read it in Russian

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have not agreed on all issues concerning an intergovernmental agreement on joint oil pumping trough the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC).

As Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, head of the State Commission for working out intergovernmental and transport agreements with Kazakhstan Abid Sharifov says, it is too early now to speak about exact date of signing the agreement. “Authorities for signing the agreement have not been given yet, as not all the issues have been agreed upon,” he said.

Sharifov added that a visit of a work group to Kazakhstan is planned to be held this week, during which Azerbaijani colleagues will settle the issues remained. “There are a lot of serious issues on the agenda. New questions concerning the agreement will be also discussed at the meeting,” he noted.

The talks between the Azerbaijani State Oil Company and Kazmunaygaz (Kazakhstan) on Kazakhstan joining the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project started in November 2002. The intergovernmental agreement between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan on transporting Kazakh oil through the BTC envisages establishment of Aktau-Baku system for shipping the oil through the Caspian Sea and its further transporting via the BTC.