Georgia appeals to Czech Republic to back trans-Caucasian gas pipeline

Georgia's parliamentary president, Nino Burdzhanadze, on Monday called on the Czech Republic to diversify its energy sources by backing a trans-Caucasian gas pipeline that would avoid transiting Russia. Speaking at a news conference at the Prague headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Mr Burdzhanadze said it was important to think about security but also about energy independence and added his country suggested using alternative sources like Azerbaijan and Georgia. The call followed the weekend singing of a gas agreement between Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan aimed at increasing the latter's gas exports to Russia. Western European countries fear the move could make them more dependent on gas from Russia whereas they have been seeking to reduce their dependence on power shipments via Russian pipelines.