Never before in history have pipelines been built across so many international boundaries, through countries with so little history of cooperation. Without regional cooperation, investors will hesitate to go forward and the costs of financing pipeline construction will remain high. Ambassador Dick Morningstar and I work closely on our pipeline strategy. Just last Thursday, Turkey and Turkmenistan signed an interim gas purchase agreement and are now negotiating on tariff, regulatory, and inter-governmental issues, which, taken together, will be essential for getting the TPC financed and built. We believe Baku-Ceyhan remains on course and are working with the governments of the Caspian Basin and beyond, especially Turkey, to make it a reality.
Regional cooperation is no less important on security issues.
We have decided to expand the initiative by including national battalions within this multilateral effort. Another tool for fostering integration in the region and with the West is NATO's Partnership for Peace, in which all of the Central Asian states except Tajikistan participate. Peace and stability cannot be taken for granted. Throughout Central Asia, leaders are on edge about instability in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. They fear an expansion of Iranian influence and the rise of violent extremism in their countries.