PRESS: Russia not to lay main pipelines on bed of Caspian Sea

MOSCOW, Sep 14 (PRIME) -- Russia does not plan to lay main pipelines on the bed of the Caspian Sea, the Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador-at-large Igor Bratchikov said in an interview with Kommersant business daily released late on Thursday.

“Russia and other Caspian states have laid thousands of kilometers of various-purpose pipes… in the sea. The number of such technical pipes will only rise. As to main trans-Caspian pipelines, we have no such plans now,” he said.

Bratchikov said that laying of any pipelines is ruled out if any of the states disapproves it.

In August, the leaders of the five Caspian states including Russia signed a convention on the sea’s legal status. It envisaged that maritime traffic, fish catching, scientific researches and laying of main pipelines must be performed according to the rules agreed by the parties, and the environmental factor is obligatory for consideration while implementing large-scale offshore projects.

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