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US raises concerns over Armenian energy ties with Iran
AFP
YEREVAN
Petroleumworld.com 06 15 07The top US diplomat in Armenia raised concerns Friday about the ex-Soviet country's growing energy cooperation with neighbouring Iran.
"We have passed on our concerns about this issue to the Armenian government," US Charge d'Affaires Anthony Godfrey said at a press conference in the Armenian capital Yerevan.
"The US is encouraging Armenia's active participation in the process of persuading Iran that it must fulfill its international obligations," Godfrey said.
The UN Security Council has imposed two rounds of sanctions in a bid to get Iran to halt uranium enrichment, which can be used for nuclear reactor fuel but also for making atomic bombs.
Landlocked Armenia has sought closer links with Iran because of an economic blockade imposed by neighbours Azerbaijan and Turkey over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.
In March, the two countries inaugurated a 150-kilometre (93-mile) pipeline that will deliver 36 billion cubic metres of gas from Iran to Armenia under a 20-year contract.
Armenia will pay for the gas with electricity it produces at a Soviet-era nuclear power plant. The two countries have also signed an agreement to jointly develop a hydroelectric power plant on the Arax river that runs along their shared border.
AFP 15 1540 GMT 06 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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