Georgian Leader Notes BTC’s Political Importance

President Saakashvili said at the official ceremony of opening the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline’s Georgian section on October 12 that although the project will have a positive effect on Georgia’s economy, the BTC “first of all has huge political importance” for the country.

In this respect he stressed the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum gas pipeline which, as Saakashvili said, will help increase Georgia’s energy independence.

The U.S.-backed Baku-Tbilisi-Erzrum (BTE) gas pipeline, or the ‘Shah-Deniz project’, is part of the much broader, BP-led oil and gas development project in the region, which also includes the BTC Main Export Oil Pipeline Project.

“This is a historic day for us… This region is no longer an impasse, this region is now important. Our country now has alternatives, options… hence there is more independence,” Saakashvili said.

“So these [BTC and BTE projects] are more than just oil and more than just gas,” he added.

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