Azernews.Az

BAKU – The ongoing talks on the legal status of the Caspian Sea are not affecting the realization of the trans-Caspian gas pipeline project that envisions building infrastructure for the supply of Turkmen natural gas across the Caspian, Charge d'Affaires of the EU delegation in Azerbaijan Jerome Pons has said.

The EU on Monday decided to launch talks with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan aimed at agreeing shipment of Turkmen gas across the Caspian to Europe. 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. Moscow on Tuesday sharply critisized the EU’s decision.

"Pipelines are sometimes laid across existing borders that remain to be agreed upon," Pons said. "Such instances can be frequently encountered in the EU as well, for example, in North Sea. But development of the project there has not been discontinued. The Caspian status talks underway among the coastal countries are not impeding the construction and operation of oil and gas pipelines."

Pons said the negotiations with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan will begin soon, but their dates are not known yet.

"The discussions will cover all issues pertaining to the project implementation, including the construction and commissioning of the trans-Caspian pipeline, and recognition of commercial agreements," the charge d'affaires said.

The trans-Caspian pipeline is considered an integral part of the Nabucco project, designed to transport gas from the Caspian region and the Middle East to the EU. The 390-kilometer pipeline will be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan where it will be linked to the Nabucco pipeline. Talks between Turkmenistan and the EU on the construction of the trans-Caspian pipeline have been underway since the late 1990s. Its construction has been hampered by the unresolved status of the resource-rich Caspian Sea.