Moscow opposes unilateral action on Trans-Caspian gas pipeline

Moscow believes that unilateral actions on construction of the Trans-Caspian gas pipeline will lead to the erosion of trust between the countries of the region, said the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.

The Trans-Caspian gas pipeline, connecting Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, is required to connect the latter to the Southern Gas Corridor, which should deliver gas from the Caspian region to Europe bypassing Russia. The EU, Baku and Ashgabat believes that consent of the countries on the territory, of which it will pass, will be enough for laying the pipeline under the Caspian Sea. Russia and Iran actively object against this approach: they consider that until the question of the legal status of the Caspian Sea is solved such project can be implemented only with the consent of all five Caspian littoral states.