What Happened: The European Union has resumed talks with Turkmenistan over the construction of the Trans-Caspian natural gas pipeline, according to EU Special Representative for Central Asia Peter Burian, Emerging Europe reported Aug. 14.
Why It Matters: Discussions between the European Union and Turkmenistan have long been stalling and although both sides have resumed talks, significant obstacles to the pipeline remain, including Iranian and Russian opposition.
Background: The Trans-Caspian pipeline would carry natural gas from Turkmenistan across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and link to infrastructure networks that transport natural gas to European markets.
Read More:
- Turkmenistan: Russia Plans to Resume Its Imports of Turkmen Natural Gas (Oct. 10, 2018)
- What Does the New Caspian Sea Agreement Mean For the Energy Market? (Aug. 17, 2018)
- Has Central Asia Stabilized? (Nov. 27, 2017)
