Karabakh peace to ensure major oil pipeline’s security – US mediator

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
26 May 05

The USA has always supported a peaceful settlement to the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict, the US co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Steven
Mann, has said commenting on whether the Karabakh conflict could
jeopardize the functioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [BTC] oil
pipeline.

He said that the BTC project was implemented at the time when peaceful
negotiations were being held. It is important that the armistice has
been preserved for 11 years.

The companies that have made investment into the project know better
about how dangerous the conflict is. They have invested over 4bn
dollars into the project, and this sum is a guarantee of trust and
secure functioning of the pipeline, the US co-chairman of the OSCE
Minsk Group said.