Nabucco not a blow to Russia

ANKARA, Turkey, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The Nabucco gas pipeline is touted as a means to diversify the European energy sector, not disrupt the Russian natural gas sector, a top official said.

"Nabucco is no anti-Russian project," Nabucco consortium director Reinhard Mitschek told Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper. "It is a European project."

Nabucco would rely on Caspian and Middle Eastern suppliers to bring natural gas to Europe. Though Russian companies are not targeted for the project, Mitschek said that did not exclude Russian natural gas for the pipeline.

"If gas traders will buy Russian gas, Nabucco will transport it," he said.

Plans for Nabucco include a 2014 launch date to bring more than 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas per year to European markets. Turkey would host a major leg of the pipeline, putting Ankara in a unique position in the regional energy sector.

"Without Turkey, Nabucco will not be realized," said Mitschek.