Need for Alternative Energy Supplies "If it is true that 2 to 3 million barrels, perhaps more, could flow daily from the Caspian region in the near future, then the development of the region compels the highest levels of attention of this city [Washington, D.C.] on a sustained basis. The most important war we have fought since Korea from a geo-strategic perspective was the defense of Kuwait in 1991. That action was as much driven by the need to maintain secure supplies of oil from the Middle East as it was to punish naked aggression. The Persian Gulf region will continue to pose uncertainties, and it is imperative that America develop alternative energy sources to hedge against them." Senator Robert C. Byrd [Democrat-West Virginia] speaking at the U.S.-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce Trade Conference in Washington, D.C., on February 18, 1997. Nagorno-Karabakh: Not a Separate Entity "I understand that the House [of Representatives] included a provision which would imply separate legal status to Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan. The international community, through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe [OSCE] has already recognized the current borders of Azerbaijan as constituting its territorial integrity. Thus, a separate legal status for Nagorno-Karabakh is opposed by the international community and is against the policy of the United States." Robert Byrd, U.S. Senator and Ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, arguing against Nagorno-Karabakh being identified as a legal entity separate from Azerbaijan. "Congressional Record" (July 25, 1996). © Azerbaijan International, 1996 and 1997. AI Home Quotes