AP recently reported that Turkmenistan's Foreign Ministry scoffed at Ukraine's proposal to build a new pipeline that would carry Turkmen natural gas to European markets, saying other nations should consult it before making such statements.

The Turkmen Foreign Ministry said it knew nothing about the project and expected other nations to consult it on future pipelines before making statements about possible routes. The ministry said "Official notices about projects to build international pipelines are supposed to come from energy producing nations after holding relevant talks and consultations with other interested parties."

Ms Yulia Tymoshenko PM of Ukraine on a recent trip to Brussels had said that her country could serve as a transit point for a pipeline that would deliver Turkmen and other Central Asian gas to European countries. She said the pipeline, known as White Stream, could cross the Caspian and the Black seas.

Turkmenistan is the second biggest gas producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia, and its gas resources are playing an increasingly important role in the geopolitics of the region. Russia controls the only export routes for Turkmenistan's gas and the main pipeline for Kazakh oil exports.