Azerbaijan sends first gasoline shipment to Armenia after decades of war
Azerbaijan said its state oil company SOCAR dispatched 1,220 metric tons (t) of gasoline to Armenia on Thursday, the first such shipment in three decades as the two countries gradually improve relations after years of war.
The Azerbaijani government said the gasoline was shipped by train from the capital Baku to Boyuk-Kesik near the border with Georgia, across whose territory it will then be delivered to Armenia.
The shipment was agreed last month at talks between the deputy prime ministers of the two South Caucasus countries as part of a drive to expand economic cooperation, said Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and head of foreign policy in his administration. They also discussed the demarcation of their disputed border, he said.
Azerbaijan and Armenia were locked in conflict for nearly 30 years after Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, broke away from Baku’s control in the 1990s and ethnic Armenians established de facto independence there. In 2023, Azerbaijan retook control over the region, after which the two sides began peace negotiations.
Earlier this year, Azerbaijan also reopened its territory for the transit of goods to Armenia, a route that had been closed since 1997. Since October, two shipments of grain from Kazakhstan and Russia have already crossed Azerbaijan en route to Armenia, with another consignment of Russian grain expected by the end of the year.
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