OREANDA-NEWS. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has issued a statement concerning the Russian government’s decision to withdraw from the agreement (signed on 18 January 1996) on transportation of Azeri oil through the Russian territory.

The SOCAR statement says that this decision of the Russian government was not politically motivated and was of an economic nature.

"This decision was not unexpected for SOCAR. The parties have repeatedly discussed the commercial issues that have not been regulated by the agreement effective from 14 February 1996, including maintaining of quality of Azeri oil, creation of a quality bank, tariff changes. Russian government’s decision to come into force from 1 January 2014 will not have any negative consequences for the company. Azerbaijan’s oil and gas export system is reliable and diversified. At the same time SOCAR appreciates the historical mission of Baku-Novorossiysk pipeline. The withdrawal of one of the parties from the agreement does not mean stoppage of Azeri oil export through Russia. SOCAR is ready for commercial negotiations with Transneft, which is responsible for management of the oil pipeline on the Russian territory," SOCAR reported.