OSKANYAN: ARMENIA INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATION IN TRANS-CASPIAN GAS PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION

Arka News Agency, Armenia
Jan 9 2007

YEREVAN, January 9. /ARKA/. Armenia is interested in participation
in Trans-Caspian gas pipeline construction, Armenian Foreign Minster
Vardan Oskanyan said Tuesday at a press conference in Yerevan.

"Armenia would like to take part in the construction and negotiations
over the matter are under way now. However, they produced no results
so far", he said.

The minister said Armenia should make all possible efforts not to
be left on sidelines, since participation in the project will enable
the country to diversify its energy system.

The project is estimated to cost $2.5bln to 3bln. The
two-thousand-kilometer gas pipeline will start from Turkmenistan
and cross Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The pipeline final
destination is planned to be Turkey’s city of Erzrum. The United States
and European Union are interested in the pipeline construction.