By JUSTIN SPIKE and VADIM GHIRDA
Associated Press, December
17, 2022 -- The leaders of Hungary, Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan finalized
an agreement Saturday on an undersea electricity connector that could become a
new power source for the European Union amid a crunch on energy supplies caused
by the war in Ukraine.
The agreement involves
a cable running beneath the Black Sea that would link Azerbaijan to Hungary via
Georgia and Romania.
The deal comes as
Hungary, which has lobbied heavily against EU sanctions on Russia for its war
in Ukraine, is seeking additional sources for fossil fuels to reduce its heavy
dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Azerbaijan plans to
export electricity from offshore wind farms to Europe via Georgia, a cable
beneath the Black Sea, and then to Romania and Hungary.
The office of Romanian
President Klaus Iohannis said in a statement Friday that the agreement between
the four nations will provide the “financial and technical framework” for the
undersea electricity cable project.
The project will aim to
diversify energy supplies and increase regional energy security, the statement
said.
On Friday, Romanian
natural gas producer Romgaz also said it signed a contract with Azerbaijan’s
state oil company SOCAR to receive natural gas through the so-called southern
gas corridor, with deliveries set to start on Jan. 1. Romgaz said it will serve
its “strategic objectives” of diversifying natural gas sources.
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