Azerbaijan shipped the first batch of petroleum products to Armenia today.

According to the Azerbaijani APA agency, Armenia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement on this during a meeting led by their deputy prime ministers in the Azerbaijani city Gabala on November 28.

APA writes that twenty-two railway wagons of AI-95 gasoline produced by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) will be shipped today. It is noted that the export of Azerbaijani petroleum products to Armenia is exclusively commercial in nature, and gasoline will be sold at prices that correspond to international market prices.

On December 8, Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia issued a statement stating that Georgia would provide free one-time transit of fuel from Azerbaijan through its territory to Armeni

Azerbaijani media outlets, however, wrote that Georgia had demanded a fee of US$92 per ton for the transit of cargo along this 111-kilometer section, which is several times higher than other railway tariffs between Azerbaijan and Georgia.

The Azerbaijani news site Minval Politika, citing its sources, wrote that the Georgian side’s proposal was negatively responded to in Baku, which caused tension in relations between the two countries. According to Azerbaijani media outlets, only after that publication did the Georgian side issue a statement about the test free transit.

Armenpress, Armenia’s state news agency, reports that Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan confirmed the news of the shipment and welcomed the development.

Pashinyan said while private companies have launched the trade, the recent peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan created favorable political conditions for the trade.

 Photo: Report.az