US official says Karabakh conflict no threat to major pipeline – Azeri TV

ANS TV, Baku
17 Oct 04

Presenter Washington wants the continuation of negotiations to resolve
the Nagorno Karabakh problem, the US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Steven Mann, who is currently on a visit to Azerbaijan, has
said. He said that the OSCE Minsk Group has no new proposals to the
conflicting sides.

Correspondent over video of Mann’s interview The special representative
of the US president for Caspian issues and US co-chairman of the
OSCE Minks Group, Steven Mann, attended the ceremony of joining the
Azerbaijani and Georgian sections of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan major
oil export pipeline. He said that the Nagornyy Karabakh problem did
not pose a threat to the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
oil pipeline project. Steven Mann said that the USA was not concerned
about the security of the pipeline but stressed that it was important
to always keep this issue in the focus of attention.

Steven Mann, in Russian fading into Azeri translation We knew all
along that the oil pipeline project would materialize. Many doubted
this. I hope that now they have changed their minds. This project
will be ready in a few months. This is an excellent project for
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The USA is proud that it has an
opportunity to support the project. The security of the pipeline is
a serious issue. We treat it seriously. Both the consortium and the
parties should seriously work on this issue.

Correspondent Asked as to what he, as a mediator, could do to bring
the parties to the conflict closer together, Steven Mann said that this
question should be referred to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. It emerges from the statements
of Steven Mann, a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, that there are
no new approaches to the problem.

Steven Mann The Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents have held two
meetings in my presence. Both Washington and the Minsk Group want these
negotiations to continue and the conflict to be resolved peacefully.

Correspondent The US co-chairman said that there were no new proposals
on the settlement of the conflict and added that their work was based
on the views and ideas of Azerbaijan and Armenia and that new ideas
should originate from them, end of quote.

Steven Mann also disclosed the US position on projects alternative to
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan. He said that the USA backs the Kazakhstan-China
project but, as always, protests against the transportation of gas
via Iran because this runs counter to US policy, end of quote.