CHISINAU, Moldova, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The Eastern European nation of Moldova says it is seeking to participate in Azeri energy projects to supply Europe with natural gas.
Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat met Friday with Azeri Ambassador to Moldova Namig Hasan Oglu Aliyev in Chisinau, saying he wants to boost Moldovan-Azeri relations and to cooperate with Baku within international organizations, the state-run Moldovan news agency Moldpres reported.
Filat said Moldova wanted to take part in international projects to transport energy from the Caspian Basin to Europe as part of a bid to boost economic collaboration between the two states.
Asserting energy security is a priority of his government, Filat said, "It is necessary to give an impetus to relations in all the cooperation areas but especially the economic ones."
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Aliyev said Baku is willing to invest in Moldovan energy projects, Moldpres reported.
"We have examples of successful implementation of investment projects in the energy field in Hungary, Georgia and Romania. Azerbaijan has a possibility of investing in Moldova as well," Aliyev said.
The meeting also had a political element. Moldova and Azerbaijan both have "frozen conflicts" stemming from the early 1990s. Moldova has been seeking a political solution on Transnistria with the help of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe while Azerbaijan has been engaged in a conflict with Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh since roughly the same time.
Baku views the breakaway of the Armenian-majority territory as a threat to its territorial integrity. Filat during the meeting expressed support for Azerbaijan`s "territorial integrity," noting that Baku backs the "territorial integrity" of Moldova on the Transnistrian issue, the official Azerbaijan State Telegraph Agency reported.
It said Aliyev thanked Filat for that while the prime minister called for greater cooperation between the two countries within international organizations such as the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, a regional organization of four post-Soviet states: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova.
The U.N. Development Program says Moldova, a mostly agrarian country, is highly dependent on energy resources imported from abroad. More than 95 percent of its energy needs -- mostly fossil fuels and electricity -- are covered by imports.
Despite its dispute with Transnistria and its lack of a president due to political wrangling within its Parliament, Moldova has been moving forward on several energy fronts with the help of the European Union.
In addition to trying to bolster its relations with Baku, Chisinau in July was given a $10 million grant to help it build a gas pipeline between Ungheni, Moldova, and Iasi, Romania, so it could tap into Romania's natural gas transportation network, Focus News Agency reported.
Filat said the project would cost the two countries a total of $27.4 million, with Moldova allocating $13 million for it.
And in May, the EU, the UNDP and the Moldovan government launched a $20 million biomass project aimed at helping the nation boost its energy security.
The effort seeks to convert locally produced biomass -- especially waste straw from agriculture -- into enough electricity for more than 130 kindergartens, schools, medical centers, and other public institutions in rural communities, as well as at least 500 private households.
