Amid a surge of activity surrounding the controversial Trans-Caspian pipeline, Russia chimed in on Wednesday to again signal its disapproval of the natural gas project that would link Turkmenistan to European and Turkish energy markets. In his address to the Russian Duma, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly said that every country has a right to choose economic partners, as long as this does not violate the interests of its neighbors. He specified that the project, which would deliver Turkmen natural gas to Europe, affects Russia's interests. Initially proposed in 1996, the 300-kilometer (186-mile) Trans-Caspian underwater pipeline would stretch from the western Turkmen port town of Turkmenbashi across the Caspian Sea to Baku. From there, up to 30 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas could travel along the Southern Corridor pipeline system through Georgia to Turkey and on to Europe.