Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey pledge cooperation on pipelines

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey signed an agreement to work together against terrorism, and also promised cooperation on pipelines to bring the energy-rich region's resources to the West. Wrapping up two days of talks between leaders of the three nations, Turkey's President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said they would soon take joint measures to ensure security for new pipelines that will bring Caspian Sea gas and oil to the West.

Interior ministers from the three countries earlier signed an agreement for joint action against terrorism and organized crime. The three-nation summit came amid reports that al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters have taken refuge in Georgia, prompting US officials to offer training for Georgia's troops in anti-terrorism operations.
Stability in the volatile region is key for the construction of a pipeline to carry Caspian Sea oil from Azerbaijan's capital Baku, through Georgia, and into the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan -- en route to Western markets. Azerbaijan President Geidar Aliev said the region formed a strategically crucial "East-West corridor," and added that the agreement would "lay the foundations" to guarantee its security.

The construction of the pipeline is due to start this summer and finish by the end of 2004, though there are concerns that tensions in Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia and plans for a military operation against the al-Qaeda fighters could affect the pipeline project. Russia, which wants Caspian energy pipelines on its own territory, has long opposed the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline. Oil companies also have their doubts, saying the proposed route is too costly and was chosen for strategic, not commercial reasons.
The United States supports the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, which would limit the influence of Russia and Iran over the region's resources. Turkey has close linguistic and cultural ties to Azerbaijan and close relations with neighbouring Georgia.