October 5, 2006 - 19:26 AMT
Armenia Lucky Not to Have Oil and Gas
Armenia is lucky not to have oil and gas, U.S. expert Richard Giragossian said in Yerevan. In his words, the states with big supply of energy resources are totalitarian and poor as a rule. "The only exception is Norway, which discovered oil after establishing a well formed political system and sustainable economy. So, from this viewpoint Azerbaijan has a gloomy outlook," he said.

At the same time the U.S. expert remarked that in the 21st century fiber-optic cable will be more important than oil pipelines. "The future of the world is high technologies and IT development. The problems of cyber security are being put in the forefront," Giragossian said.

He also remarked that the political and commercial benefit from the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline fully depends on the Kazakh oil. Presently the oil-bearing zone of the Persian Gulf is the most important strategic task for the U.S. Caspian region is a secondary and not a very important task. According to the expert, under such circumstances Azerbaijan will move towards East and Central Asia rather then towards Europe.

Georgia moves in the opposite direction, that is towards Europe. Thus, Armenia may remain alone, in the role of Russia's only ally, what can jeopardize the national security. Armenia is most likely to face the West,' the expert said.