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Jerome Pons: â€œThe on-going negotiation on the legal status of the Caspian has not precluded the construction and operation of oil and gas pipelinesâ€

13 September 2011 16:10 (UTC +04:00)

â€œPipelines have been built over borders that certainly exist but are not agreed upon. This has happened often and in the European Union, the North Sea for instance has encountered these types of problems. It did not stop development. In the Caspian Sea, the on-going negotiation between the littoral states over the last years on the legal status of the Caspian has in fact not precluded the construction and operation of oil and gas pipelinesâ€, Pons said.

â€œThe negotiations will start soon, however the exact timing has not been determined yetâ€, Pons said and added: â€œAll matters pertaining to the realization of the project will be covered such as commissioning, building, and operation of the trans-Caspian pipeline itself, and the legal framework that will apply to filling the pipeline with gas from Turkmenistan, including an appropriate recognition of commercial arrangementsâ€.

EU Council adopted of a mandate to authorize the European Commission to negotiate an agreement for the legal framework with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan for a Trans-Caspian gas pipeline system.