Brussels - The European Union's top energy official is set to depart for a mission to Turkey and Azerbaijan Wednesday in a bid to bypass Russia for new gas supplies, officials said.

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs' visit is set to send a strong political signal that the EU is interested in two major pipelines, known as ITGI and Nabucco, which would bring gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey to Europe while avoiding Russia, European Commission officials said.

The meeting with Turkey's leaders will focus on transit standards for gas delivered through the Nabucco pipeline, which would run from Turkey to Austria via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.

Ankara has so far insisted that the transit rules guarantee Turkey a sufficient supply of gas. However, the EU and the pipeline's commercial backers oppose Turkey's proposal, arguing that transit decisions should be solely based on cost, officials in Brussels said.

In Azerbaijan, meanwhile, Piebalgs is set to discuss the country's plans for allocating an estimated 7 billion to 9 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year of gas. The country is to decide the allocation next year. The two pipelines would need this gas, but other non-EU companies are also competing for the country's gas.

Ever since Russian gas monopoly Gazprom shut off supplies to Ukraine in a pricing dispute in January 2006, causing brief shortfalls across Europe, EU states have highlighted the need for the bloc to reduce its dependency on Russian gas.

The commission has identified the Nabucco pipeline as a chance to bring gas from Azerbaijan and, ultimately, Turkmenistan via Turkey to Europe, thereby bypassing Russian routes.

The "Interconnector Turkey-Greece-Italy", or ITGI, is meant to bring gas from the Caspian basin to Italy - again bypassing Russian-controlled routes.

However, critics say that both Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have pledged much of their future gas production to Russian and Western companies - leaving it questionable whether the new pipelines will ultimately have any gas to transport to Europe.

The pipelines have gained importance on the EU agenda following the summer's war between Russia and Georgia. Experts said the war both showed Europe's need to diversify supplies and the difficulties it faces in doing so. (dpa)