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13.09.2011 18:21
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According to RIA Novosti report, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today that it regrets the EU’s decision from yesterday to open talks with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan aimed at agreeing shipment of Turkmen natural gas across the Caspian Sea to Europe. As reminded by the report, the European Commission will lead negotiations on the proposed trans-Caspian pipeline, which is part of planned links known as the Southern Corridor, intended to reduce EU dependence on Russian gas imports.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation regrets the EU Council's decision. By all appearances, it ignores the current international, legal and geopolitical situation in the Caspian basin,” the ministry said in a statement. It also said that unlike existing pipelines, construction of the trans-Caspian pipeline, which would pass through an area with high seismic activity, could affect all the littoral states. “As we know, this is a first experience for the European Union too, and we are surprised that it is in the Caspian Sea, which does not border any of the European Union members,” the statement quoted foreign ministry official representative Alexander Lukashevich as saying.
The ministry also said that all attempts to intervene in the Caspian deal could seriously complicate the situation in the region and negatively affect talks on the status of the Caspian Sea. RIA Novosti report says that a new agreement between the EU, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan could be particularly beneficial to the proposed Nabucco pipeline, which is a rival to Russia’s South Stream project.
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