July 20, 2004 - 23:59 AMT
AGREEING TO BTC, AZERBAIJAN MISSED LAST CHANCE OF FAIR SOLUTION OF KARABAKH PROBLEM, BAKU EXPERT CONSIDERS
The concern of Western non-governmental organizations over the building of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is not groundless, head of the Azeri Citizens' Initiatives Center Mais Gulalyev told Echo Baku newspaper. In his opinion, "the Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan and national minority problems in Turkey should be solved first, then one can set about the building of the BTC. The construction of the BTC will lead to the freezing of those conflicts for a long period of time, and it is not a way out of the situation." The expert considers that having agreed to the building of the oil pipeline the Azeri authorities missed their last chance for a fair solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. "The project will cause regional conflicts, as after the building of the BTC we will encounter a large number of terrorist acts along the full length of the oil pipeline. It will make the Azerbaijani authorities sign the ceding of Nagorno Karabakh," he concluded.