Agency WPS
What the Papers Say Part B (Russia)
February 9, 2007 Friday

ARMENIA IS PREPARED TO BETRAY US;
Yerevan dreams of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline

by Sergei Sklyarov, Mikhail Sergeyev

Armenian foreign minister’s reckless statement may offend Moscow;
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian has said that Yerevan is
considering joining the upcoming Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project,
in an effort to make Central Asian gas producers less dependent on
transit via Russia.

Addressing the parliament on February 7, Armenian Foreign Minister
Vardan Oskanian said Yerevan is considering joining the upcoming
Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline project, in an effort to make Central
Asian gas producers less dependent on transit via Russia.

"We are importing gas from Russia nowadays. Imports of gas from Iran
will begin soon. We intend to apply for some gas from Central Asia as
well," Oskanian said. "Diversifying import routes is undeniably
important for Armenia. This is a problem we will be tackling from all
angles." This is not the first statement to the effect that Yerevan
would like to participate in construction of the gas pipeline.
Oskanian made his previous statement on the issue a month ago, give
or take a few days.

At this point, builders of the gas pipeline want it running from
Tenghiz (Kazakhstan) to Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) to Baku
(Azerbaijan) to Tbilisi (Georgia) to Erzerum (Turkey). No branches to
Armenia are planned because Azerbaijan backed by Turkey refuses to
consider Yerevan’s economic interests or need pending
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. Aware of the political futility
of counting on Azeri gas, the Armenian diplomat emphasized that what
he was talking about concerned gas import from Central Asian
countries and not from Azerbaijan as such. Oskanian added that
Armenia did not intend to make concessions to Azerbaijan in the
matter of Nagorno-Karabakh for the sake of gas.

Baku promptly responded. Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesman Tair
Tagizade told the Turan news agency that no bilateral or multilateral
relations with Armenia are possible until the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict is resolved.

Even experts are fairly skeptical about Armenia’s chances of becoming
involved. "The whole project of the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline looks
ill-planned and economically inexpedient, and Armenia’s participation
will make it even more risky," Valery Nesterov from Troika Dialog
told us. "After all, the Azeri-Armenian confrontation over
Nagorno-Karabakh is not going to be over in the foreseeable future."

All things considered, Oskanian’s statement doesn’t look particularly
far-sighted or even tactful. Armenia’s chances of receiving Central
Asian gas are negligible, but relations with its ally, Russia, may
sour over what was essentially an anti-Russian statement.

Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, February 9, 2007, p. 4

Translated by A. Ignatkin

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress