Kazakhstan will not sideline gas customers

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Kazakhstan needs to consider the demands from all of its potential energy customers, including Russia and the European Union, the Kazakh premier said.

Prime Minister Karim Masimov had met with Mirek Topolanek, the Czech prime minister and president of the European Council, to discuss energy potentials in the region, the Czech News Agency reported.

Topolanek said the EU sees Kazakhstan as a major supplier, notably for the planned Nabucco project, but Masimov said his country needs to consider the needs of all parties, including Russia.

The Kazakh prime minister said a detached interest by European leaders in Nabucco was to blame for his country's blase approach to the $10.7 billion project.

Nabucco would bring natural gas from Central Asia and the Middle East to customers in Europe. Turkey would host a major section of the 2,051-mile pipeline.