US CONCERNS OVER ARMENIA-IRAN ENERGY TIES

IranMania, Iran
June 16 2007

LONDON, June 16 (IranMania) – The top US diplomat in Armenia
raised concerns Friday about the ex-Soviet country’s growing energy
cooperation with neighbouring Iran, UPI reported.

"We have passed on our concerns about this issue to the Armenian
government," US Charge d’Affaires Anthony Godfrey said at a press
conference in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

"The US is encouraging Armenia’s active participation in the process
of persuading Iran that it must fulfill its international obligations,"
Godfrey said.

The UN Security Council has imposed two rounds of sanctions in a bid
to get Iran to halt uranium enrichment, which can be used for nuclear
reactor fuel but also for making atomic bombs.

Landlocked Armenia has sought closer links with Iran because of an
economic blockade imposed by neighbours Azerbaijan and Turkey over
the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

In March, the two countries inaugurated a 150-kilometre (93-mile)
pipeline that will deliver 36 billion cubic metres of gas from Iran
to Armenia under a 20-year contract.

Armenia will pay for the gas with electricity it produces at a
Soviet-era nuclear power plant. The two countries have also signed
an agreement to jointly develop a hydroelectric power plant on the
Arax river that runs along their shared border.