Plans to carry
natural gas from the Caspian region to Europe must be open to
transport gas from Turkmenistan, once that is
available, the European Commission said Wednesday.
"The commission has pointed out to its partners that whichever option is
chosen, there must be mechanisms to allow for new gas from Turkmenistan, when gas from that
source is ready," said a statement from the commission, which has
executive powers within the European Union. The statement welcomed the
signature of an agreement for gas transit between Azerbaijan and Turkey late Tuesday.
The commission has been strongly sponsoring the Nabucco pipeline project, the
longest and biggest of the main contenders to transport, at a first stage, gas
from an Azeri offshore field.
In recent months, the commission has been working hard to get Turkmen gas
flowing to Europe and has a mandate to negotiate an agreement between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to build a pipeline
across the Caspian.