U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, Ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, applauded an agreement last week between European Union member states, Turkey and Azerbaijan to move forward on the Nabucco Pipeline project.
“By forging a Nabucco agreement in Prague, leaders in Turkey, Azerbaijan and European nations have taken another step toward a more secure and prosperous future for their people,” Lugar said. “Energy security is essential for the national security of every country. Nabucco will help safeguard the independence and prosperity of each nation involved. Importing and exporting nations alike will benefit when no one country monopolizes supply routes.”
“Even as we encourage leaders in Turkey, Azerbaijan and the European Union to sign the final intergovernmental agreements necessary for investment to begin, the United States must continue its own strong support for Nabucco,” Lugar said. “I am confident that President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary Clinton understand the strategic and economic importance of this pipeline for the United States, our friends in the region and NATO.”
The proposed Nabucco Pipeline project would be built across Turkey and countries of Eastern Europe to link gas supplies of the Caspian Sea region directly with European consumers. Currently Russia serves as an intermediary between European consumers and Central Asian suppliers.
Lugar mission to advance energy security from Central Asia to Europe
In 2008, Senator Lugar undertook a three-leg mission to promote energy security that took him from Central Asia, through the southern Caucasus and Europe, and to Russia. The first leg was in January, followed by a leg in August and one in December. This mission came at a critical time. The trans-Atlantic alliance has long been a source of stability and prosperity in the world. However,
unity in the alliance has come under strain as some countries have struggled to improve their energy security.
He vigorously advocated a first priority: completing the so-called East-West energy corridor to bring oil and natural gas across the Caspian Sea from Central Asia to distribution points in Europe, primarily through the proposed Nabucco pipeline. This led to meetings with top government officials in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, Germany, France, and the European Union based in Belgium. Opening the East-West energy corridor will be a bulwark against political manipulation of gas/energy supplies in the region by helping to provided diversification of gas supplies to Europe.
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