Turkmens, Azerbaijan hold talks on Caspian Sea boosting European gas pipeline prospects

Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have begun talks to agree on a border in the energy-rich Caspian Sea, the Turkmen foreign ministry said Thursday, a move that boosts prospects for a Western-backed pipeline project to pump gas to Europe.

The feasibility of the Nabucco pipeline — planned to connect eastern Turkey with the lucrative European market — rests heavily on its ability to tap into the Caspian region's vast energy resources.

A subsea pipeline under the Caspian linking Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, which stand on its opposite shores, would be a massive boost to Nabucco but faces stiff opposition from Russia, which wants a monopoly on the supply of Central Asian gas to Europe.

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