Kazakh Foreign Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev told Interfax in Berlin on May 19 that a gas pipeline across the Caspian Sea may be built only with the agreement of all five Caspian littoral states.\" Despite the general appeal of this project, it is quite difficult in technical terms,\" Toqaev said. \"Especially considering that it requires the laying of a gas pipeline along the Caspian seafloor, for which the consent of all Caspian states is needed.\" The Caspian\'s legal status remains undefined, and Toqaev noted that while the littoral states have managed to agree on \"70 percent\" of a convention to define the Caspian\'s legal status, \"it is difficult to expect that the convention will be ready for signing in the near future.\" The news agency noted that Iranian officials recently cast doubt on the possibility of a trans-Caspian gas pipeline without the consent of all five littoral states. On another front, Toqaev told Interfax that Kazakhstan is considering a Chinese proposal for a gas pipeline running parallel to the existing Atasa-Alashankou oil pipeline for exports from Kazakhstan to China. China made the proposal when Toqaev visited Beijing in mid-April, but Toqaev said that it is still too early to discuss any possible time frames for the project. (Interfax)