PARIS : A pipeline deal signed at the weekend by Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, giving Russia access to gas from the Caspian Sea, is bad news for Europe, US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said on Monday.

"Europe needs to diversify its energy sources and Europeans should take due note of this," Bodman told a press conference during a meeting of the International Energy Agency.

The presidents of Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, meeting in the Caspian port of Turkmenbashi, on Saturday agreed on the restoration of an existing pipeline. They also decided on new construction on a route from Turkmenistan to Russia via Kazakhstan.

The deal represented a major triumph for Moscow, which has long pushed the route over the rival Nabucco project, a US proposal that would cross the Caspian.

The accord was also seen as likely to increase Europe's energy dependence on Russia.

European officials have voiced mounting concern over the power that Moscow wields because of its massive oil and gas reserves, as well as its control of energy supply transportation from Central Asia.

Nevertheless the European Union's Energy Commissioner Andris Pielbalgs remained upbeat on Monday. The deal meant there would be more gas available for the EU, "which is no bad thing," he said.

Nor did he think the new deal definitively ruled out the US-backed Nabucco project.

William Ramsay, deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency, also remained positive, saying that the financial details of the deal were still not clear.

"I think there are better options," said Ramsay. "A trans-Caspian pipeline could be more profitable," he added, a reference to the Nabucco project.

But last weekend's deal meant fewer suppliers for Europe and a less diversified market for Turkmenistan.

"One should not use energy as a political tool or a source of pressure, but any time you can improve the infrastructure that's good news," said Angel Gurria, secretary of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

"Cooperation in energy is key to solving many problems," he added.

Meanwhile Nino Burdzhanadze, Georgia's parliamentary president, called on the Czech Republic to diversify its energy sources by backing a trans-Caucasian gas pipeline that would avoid transiting Russia.

"Today it is important to think about security but also about energy independence," Burdzhanadze told reporters at the Prague headquarters of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

"We suggest using alternative sources such as Azerbaijan and Georgia," he added.

"Russia is trying everything possible to avoid Turkmenistan being involved in an alternative (gas shipment) possibility, it would be sad if that project blocks all other projects," Burdzhanadze said.

"I'm sure there is room for cooperation. We should find room for a new contract and bring gas through Georgia and Azerbaijan to Europe," she added.

Georgia was forced to accept a doubling in the price of gas supplied by Russian giant Gazprom last December.

For Russia's Alfa Bank, although it appeared to be a clear victory for Moscow, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan might well have been the real winners.

Russia knew that its central Asian neighbours, rich in natural resources, were also being courted by both the European Union and the United States, said a spokesman.

That would have given Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan some negotiating leverage with which to negotiate a favourable deal.

But Russia would no doubt have realised that making concessions and treating the former Soviet satellites as equal partners could prove profitable in the long term, said the bank's spokesman.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said concrete work on the project would begin in the first half of 2008 and would increase capacity along the route by at least 12 billion cubic metres per year by 2012. - AFP/de