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Russia Journal July 12, 2002 C. Asian pipeline may extend to India -The planned 1,460-kilometer (907-mile) pipeline is to carry gas from Turkmenistan's Dauletabad-Donmez field to Afghanistan and Multan, Pakistan, and is supported by the United States. The pipeline has been viewed as a way for Washington to counter Russian and Iranian influence in the region with a transit route that skirts those countries. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (Associated Press) - The international group planning a dlrs 2 billion natural gas pipeline from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan have proposed extending the project to India. Juma Mahammadi, the Afghan minister for industry and mineral resources, said after all-day meetings in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat on Wednesday, "It is expected that the pipeline ... will be extended to India." The planned 1,460-kilometer (907-mile) pipeline is to carry gas from Turkmenistan's Dauletabad-Donmez field to Afghanistan and Multan, Pakistan, and is supported by the United States. The pipeline has been viewed as a way for Washington to counter Russian and Iranian influence in the region with a transit route that skirts those countries. Wednesday's meetings produced no agreements over technical specifications. A feasibility study is to be undertaken by September of this year and its results presented to a second meeting of the partners in Kabul, Afghanistan. The participants didn't say whether representatives of the Indian government have been invited to upcoming meetings. However, Mahammadi said "the Indian government has expressed its readiness to buy gas from this pipeline" in the future. A similar project was launched in 1997 with the participation of U.S. energy giant Unocal Corp., but abandoned when the United States fired cruise missiles into Afghanistan in 1998 in pursuit of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, blamed for two U.S. embassy bombings that year in east Africa. /The Associated Press/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Sign up for SBC Yahoo! Dial - First Month Free http://sbc.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu 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 ==^================================================================
