A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official said energy transfer to Europe through countries along the eastern side of the Caspian Sea isn't possible without Iranian gas, and referred to the use of trans-Caspian pipelines under the Caspian seabed as "null and void" due to environmental concerns, the Iran Daily newspaper reports Thursday.
Mehdi Safari, Iran's Foreign Ministry Deputy for European Affairs said Turkmenistan's contracts for natural gas sales to Iran, Russia and China, will leave the central Asian country without much gas to sell for the Nabucco pipeline, reports the newspaper, citing the state Irna News Agency.
"(Turkmenistan) will be left with no remarkable amount of gas to send to Europe," the daily cites Safari as saying.
The senior Iranian official, who is Iran's special envoy for Caspian Sea-related affairs, cited statements from Kazakhstan that the country has no gas to send to Europe via a new gas pipeline, according to Iran Daily.
Safari said Iran is the best route for the Nabucco project, and welcomes negotiations, reports the paper.
Safari said the country is ready to offer any kind of "facilities" for the project, the daily said.
The Nabucco pipeline aims to pipe 31 billion cubic meters a year of gas from the Caspian region, the Middle East and Egypt to Europe through Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Austria.
Iran was not present at the official intergovernmental signing ceremony of the pipeline, which was held in Istanbul Monday.