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http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bk/Qazerbaijan-us-iran.R2iv_CMS.html US to help oil-rich Azerbaijan defend Caspian Sea boundary Thursday, 28-Mar-2002 Story from AFP / Christian Lowe -...Friday's announcement was the first time the US had pledged to involve its military in the dispute. -The other areas of cooperation covered by the package are enhancing the peacekeeping capabilities of the Azeri military and bringing its air traffic control systems up to NATO alliance standards.... -Washington has strongly advocated oil exploration in the Caspian, thought to hold the world's third largest oil and gas deposits. It also supports a planned pipeline to export Caspian oil to the Turkish Mediterranean. BAKU, March 28 (AFP) - A senior US defense official announced on Thursday that the US military is to help Azerbaijan defend its maritime borders in the oil-rich Caspian Sea, which are the subject of an angry dispute with neighbouring Iran. Mira Ricardel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, on a visit to Azerbaijan, said the US would provide assistance aimed at "enhancing the naval capability to secure the maritime borders of Azerbaijan." "What we are talking about is helping Azerbaijan in having the capability to protect its economic zone and territorial waters," she said at a press conference in the Azeri capital, Baku. She said consultations were still in progress with the Azeri defense ministry to decide what form that assistance would take. Iran is claiming that it is the rightful owner of a sector of the Caspian where Azerbaijan has been prospecting for oil in partnership with western energy companies. Last summer an Iranian warship threatened to fire on an Azeri oil research vessel in the sector, and since then exploration has been suspended. The US has backed Azerbaijan in the row, arguing that until a new agreement on Caspian borders is reached, Iran should respect Azerbaijan's territorial waters as they currently stand. However, Friday's announcement was the first time the US had pledged to involve its military in the dispute. Washington has strongly advocated oil exploration in the Caspian, thought to hold the world's third largest oil and gas deposits. It also supports a planned pipeline to export Caspian oil to the Turkish Mediterranean. Ricardel announced the maritime security assistance as part of a package of military aid to Azerbaijan worth 4.4 million dollars (5.041 million euros) over this year. The other areas of cooperation covered by the package are enhancing the peacekeeping capabilities of the Azeri military and bringing its air traffic control systems up to NATO alliance standards, Ricardel said. Ricardel and Azeri Defense Minister Safar Abbiyev signed an agreement on the defence co-operation at a ceremony earlier on Thursday. At the signing ceremony, the US official said that overall, the military assistance to Azerbaijan "can be viewed as part of the fight against terrorism," following the attacks on New York and Washington last September 11. Until now, the Pentagon has been barred from providing direct military assistance to Baku by a Congressional measure stemming from Azerbaijan's war with Armenia in the early 1990's. However President George W. Bush suspended that measure in January. There has been a dispute over how to divide the Caspian Sea since the Soviet Union collpased in 1991 creating four new coastal states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia, in addition to Iran. Iran and Turkmenistan want the inland sea split equally five ways, which would give them a bigger share and control of prospective hydrocarbon fields in Azerbaijan's sector. The other littoral states are in broad agreement that the sea should be split into national sectors roughly corresponding to the length of each country's coastline. A summit of Caspian states is due to convene in the Turkmen capital, Ashkabad, next month but observers are doubtful that it will result in any breakthrough. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Greetings - send holiday greetings for Easter, Passover http://greetings.yahoo.com/ --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
