BRUSSELS, July 17 (UPI) -- The government of Azerbaijan has been lobbying the French presidency of the European Union to back its energy projects, officials said.
French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Gabriel Keller told reporters in the capital, Baku, Thursday that EU member states should support energy programs in the Caspian state to meet their rising energy demands, Trend Capital News said.
"The bilateral and multilateral talks on this issue in France-Azerbaijan and EU-Azerbaijan format are going on. The only reason of the lingering is that EU includes 27 states and the consent of all of them is required for this purpose," Keller said.
The ambassador said French support for the Nabucco natural gas pipeline, which will connect to the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline, points to a positive working relationship between Europe and Azerbaijan.
France holds the EU presidency through 2008.
