BAKU: Blair Hopes For Garabagh Solution In 2006

BLAIR HOPES FOR GARABAGH SOLUTION IN 2006

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
June 7 2006

Baku, June 6, AssA-Irada
British Prime Minister Tony Blair has expressed hope for a resolution
of the long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno)
Garabagh this year.

“I hope that 2006 will see a solution to the conflict that has claimed
many lives,” he wrote in a congratulatory message to President Ilham
Aliyev on the occasion of the opening of the 13th International
Caspian Oil And Gas Exhibition in Baku on Tuesday.

Blair wrote that oil revenues will open up extensive opportunities
for Azerbaijan, which necessitates reconsidering future prospects
and outlining programs for the coming years. He indicated that the
country would continue taking steps to expand its ties with NATO,
the Council of Europe and OSCE to promote free society and economy.