UK ENERGY MINISTER PROMOTES SOUTHERN CORRIDOR IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 001186

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV AJ TK ENRG
SUBJECT: UK ENERGY MINISTER PROMOTES SOUTHERN CORRIDOR IN
AZERBAIJAN VISIT

Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse, Reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: During a September 20 visit to Azerbaijan, UK
Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks sought to express UK support
for the Southern Corridor, and to urge Azerbaijan to reach
out to the EU in order to strengthen cooperation on energy
security. Speaking of the UK's regional energy policy, a UK
Embassy interlocutor in Baku said that British emphasis would
be on urging the EU to "get its act together" concerning
creating and implementing a Caspian energy policy that
focused on the Southern Corridor. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) On September 25, EnergyOff received a readout from his
UK Embassy counterpart on the September 21 visit to
Azerbaijan of UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks. Wicks had
separate meetings with President Aliyev, SOCAR President
Rovnaq Aliyev, Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev,
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and Energy Minister Natiq
Aliyev, in addition to a meeting with BP Azerbaijan President
Bill Schrader. UK EnergyOff said that the only reason they
sought a meeting with Energy Minister Aliyev was because he
was Wicks' counterpart, the implication being that Aliyev was
not a player in Azerbaijan's energy policy.


3. (C) A common theme in Wicks, meeting was Azerbaijani
Government officials, continuing anger with
Turkey for the lack of consultation prior to the July 26
signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement for the
Turkey-Greece-Italy Pipeline (a theme we also heard during
recent energy-related meetings with senior GOJA officials).
All Azerbaijani officials expressed variations on the theme
that these three countries, but especially their 'Turkic
brothers,' should have included Azerbaijan in a process
involving the sales of their gas. Azerbaijani interlocutors
were also piqued at the 'netback formula' that Turkey was
seeking to foist on Azerbaijan for transiting gas, as they
felt it sought to extract excessive profits from Azerbaijan.
UK Embassy EnergyOff noted that the UK would seek 'informal
feedback' from the EU as to the legality of the July 26
agreement in terms of EU anti-competition regulations.


4. (C) Azerbaijan UK EnergyOff said the thrust of the UK's
regional energy policy, given its limited influence, was to
focus on moving the EU towards implementing the Southern
Corridor strategy. To this end, Minister Wicks sought to
urge his GOAJ interlocutors to in turn urge the EU to 'get
its act together' in this regard. However, whereas the EC
can be relatively effective in pushing forward an energy
agenda, there is the sense among those forming regional UK
energy policy that it is quite difficult to influence the
individual European states like France and Germany, each of
whom pursue an independent energy policy.
DERSE