Russia stages raid near key oil pipeline: Georgia TBILISI (AFP) — Russian warplanes on Saturday staged a raid near a major international oil pipeline that runs through Georgia but did not damage it, Georgia's prime minister said. The 1,774-kilometre (1,109-mile) Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is the world's second longest and takes oil from Azerbaijan to Western markets. Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told Georgian television: "The area of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline was bombed by Russian planes. Miraculously, the pipeline was not damaged."
Russia stages raid near key oil pipeline: Georgia
TBILISI (AFP) — Russian warplanes on Saturday staged a raid near a major international oil pipeline that runs through Georgia but did not damage it, Georgia's prime minister said.
The 1,774-kilometre (1,109-mile) Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline is the world's second longest and takes oil from Azerbaijan to Western markets. Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze told Georgian television: "The area of the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline was bombed by Russian planes. Miraculously, the pipeline was not damaged."
Given that no oil is moving now, it would have had no immediate consequences, but I must admit that I'm surprised they'd attack the pipeline so early on. As this is just a Georgian assertion, which talks about 'the area of the pipeline', let's wait to have more info.
If this has indeed happened, this is a direct sign to the US, and a pretty ominous one. Russia would be raising the stakes massively.
BP Says It Is Unaware Of Bombing Near Georgia Oil Pipeline LONDON (AFP)--U.K. oil giant BP PLC (BP) said Saturday it was unaware of Russian bombing near a major international oil pipeline in Georgia that it operates. A BP spokesman told AFP: "We've seen reports attributed to a Georgian minister saying that the Russians have bombed the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. "We are not aware of that and I think we probably would be if it were true."
LONDON (AFP)--U.K. oil giant BP PLC (BP) said Saturday it was unaware of Russian bombing near a major international oil pipeline in Georgia that it operates.
A BP spokesman told AFP: "We've seen reports attributed to a Georgian minister saying that the Russians have bombed the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.
"We are not aware of that and I think we probably would be if it were true."
Russian forces only now been able to unblock Tskhinval and from the reports that are starting to come the city is completely leveled by the artillery and 3 days of Georgian occupation. Civilian casualties are more than 2000, according to the coming reports.
Mikhail Romanoff is one of the 20+ Russian journalists who managed to hide in the basements of several buildings over the course of the Tskhinval siege and fighting is saying they are safe, mostly in one piece and left for North Ossetia. He says not to believe "neither Western (=Georgian) nor Russian TV" and there are more casualties than reported and that it is "worse than Beslan or Chechnya".
