From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Thu Feb 19 2004 - 08:29:27 EST
Azerbaijan pursuing "multiple pipeline policy" - premier
Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS
Kiev, 18 February: The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil
pipeline will be completed by the end of this year, Azerbaijani Prime
Minister Artur Rasizada told a joint news conference with his Ukrainian
counterpart Viktor Yanukovych after their meetings in private and at the
level of delegations.
"The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export pipeline will be built by the end
of this year," the Azerbaijani prime minister said.
Rasizada added that Azerbaijan would continue sending about 2.5m tonnes
of oil per year to Novorossiysk (Russia) and 6m tonnes per year to Supsa
(Georgia). The Azerbaijani side sees the Odessa-Brody pipeline as yet
another alternative.
"We are pursuing a multiple pipeline policy," he said.
Yanukovych informed journalists of Azerbaijan's interest in taking part
in the further construction of the Odessa-Brody pipeline as far as Plock
and Gdansk in Poland.
"The Azerbaijani side is interested in this. We need to sign
corresponding agreements and we have already agreed to do so," the
Ukrainian prime minister said.
Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1630 gmt 18 Feb 04
BBC Mon TCU 180204 ek/eb
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