Romania attempts to assume an intermediary role between Turkmenistan and the EU, taking over Germany's initiative in the region, a Russian expert declared, quoted by Nezavisimaia gazeta. The visit of the Romanian President Traian Basescu at Ashkhabad followed some declarations of Turkmen leaders who declared that Romania became their promoter in Europe.

Recently, Turmen President Gurbangula Berdymuhamedov assured Brussels of their availability to deliver gas for the Nabucco project. Romania one of the participants to this project is interested to promote the new pipeline.

The main consumer of Turkmen gas, Russia is no longer seen as a confident business partner after some problems with the Central Asian pipeline. The Russian experts said that Romania plans to outrun a traditional player in the region, namely Germany.

In his opinion Romania might benefit from an advantageous position because Bucharest plans to receive economic aid from the EU and some investment deals with Turkmenistan might bring about certain benefits.