BTC Pipe Linked at Azeri-Georgia Border

Two sections of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline were connected during an official ceremony which took place at the Georgian-Azerbaijani border on October 16.

The ceremony was attended by both the Azerbaijani and Georgian Presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Mikheil Saakashvili.

Construction of the BP-led and U.S.-backed BTC pipeline is expected to be finished by March, 2005. It will carry Azeri oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, and eventually to western markets, via Georgia.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said at the ceremony that the BTC is a step forward, towards the strengthening of independence of both Azerbaijan and Georgia. ?However, I do not harbour the illusion that this pipeline will solve all our problems,? he added.