Turkmenistan to have summit on European gas

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) - A Turkish diplomat says the presidents of Turkey, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan are set to meet to lay groundwork on possible future deliveries of natural gas from Turkmenistan to Europe.

Mustafa Kapucu, Turkey's envoy to Turkmenistan, said Friday that the three-way summit will happen later this year.

The preferred proposed westward pipeline route for Turkmen gas would cross the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, from where it would feed into Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline.

Turkmenistan, an ex-Soviet republic sitting atop one of the world's largest gas fields, exports most of its gas to China and a small amount to Iran. It wants to build another pipeline across Afghanistan toward Pakistan and India, although security issues have put the viability of that project in severe doubt.