Negotiations on Kazakhstani participation in BTC to take place in May

The next round of negotiations between the Azerbaijani and Kazakhstani working groups on issues of Kazakhstani participation in the BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) oil pipeline construction project will take place in the end of May. Natiq Aliyev, president of the SOCAR, has made this statement in his conversation with journalists, KZ-today correspondent reports from Baku. The main target of the negotiations is to prepare a draft intergovernmental agreement between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan on the transportation of Kazakhstani oil via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. As soon as an agreement on this draft is reached on the level of working groups headed by Kairgeldy Kabyldin, managing director of "KazMunaiGas" NC" CJSC, (RK) and Natiq Aliyev, president of the SOCAR, the document will be submitted to the governments of the two countries for consideration. When this agreement is inked, transit agreements will be signed between the investors of Aktau-Baku system and governments of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan as well. The head of the state oil company has observed that lawyers have already completed their work on the draft intergovernmental agreement. He says that in late May representatives of the two countries on the top level will meet to take a final decision on the main issues, on which the lawyers will have either agreed or disagreed so that the document would then be presented for consideration to the governments of the two countries.