Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Oct. 17 / Trend H. Hasanov /
Turkmenistan is discussing the opportunities of Turkmen gas supplies to Europe with Azerbaijan, Turkey and the EU, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said today at an OSCE high level conference on energy security in Ashgabat, a source taking part in the forum told Trend .
The keynote of the event, organized in Ashgabat with the participation of Turkmen and Ukrainian foreign ministries (OSCE chairman) is "Energy security and sustainable development - the OSCE perspective".
"An effective form of cooperation with the EU has been created," President Berdimuhamedov said in his opening speech on energy cooperation. "At this stage, substantive work is being conducted to establish a legal framework for the implementation of a project for natural gas supply from Turkmenistan to Europe in the future.
The Turkmen President said that a joint committee of Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the European Union is working in this sphere.
Issues of Turkmenistan's energy cooperation with the EU were touched upon during a visit of the President of European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso to Ashgabat in January 2011.
In September 2011, the European Union provided a mandate to start talks on the preparation of an agreement on the Trans-Caspian Project between the EU, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
In July 2013, after the summit talks in Ashgabat, a framework agreement on cooperation in deliveries of Turkmen natural gas to Turkey and further to Europe was also signed between the governments of Turkmenistan and Turkey.
One of the best options for delivery of Turkmen resources to the European market is the project on construction of a 300 km long pipeline to the coast of Azerbaijan through Caspian Sea bed. Then the Turkmen fuel may reach Turkey, which borders with the European countries.
Trans-Caspian Project could become a part of several large-scale projects, including AGRI and TANAP, in which Ankara and Baku are actively participating.
Ashgabat believes that agreements of the parties, (Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan) the territories of which are covered by the project, are sufficient for construction of the pipeline through the Caspian Sea bed, the legal status of which has not yet been determined.
Azerbaijan expressed readiness to provide its territory, transit opportunities and infrastructure for the project, what was also stated by the representatives of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).