Bucharest, Aug 28 /Agerpres/ - The United States of America hails Romania's contribution to the security and the stability in the Black Sea region and the development of the projects of the energy resources transportation from the Caspian Sea to the European countries, US Sen. Richard Lugar said in the end of his meeting with Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, at Victoria Palace (Romanian Government's hqs.), on Thursday.

We appreciate the important efforts Romania has made for the development of the Nabucco and Constanta (south eastern Romania) - Trieste crude and natural gas pipelines, said senior Republican and chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Lugar.

PM Tariceanu stressed in his turn that the topic of the energy security is a priority on the EU agenda, and Romania and the United States want to consolidate a joint outlook in the respect, particularly as regards the relationship with the partners in the Black Sea area and the Caucasus.

'I have emphasized the constant interest we have in the achievement of the Nabucco crude pipeline, as well as of the Pan European Constanta-Trieste pipeline project that can provide a direct and safe route to ship the crude and the methane from the Caspian area. We talked about the project of building a terminal for liquefied natural gas in Constanta to meet the demand on the Romanian market and later, probably on other markets as well,' said PM Tariceanu.

He thanked, on Romania's behalf, for the decision the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) made on considerably financing a feasibility study for the liquefied natural gas terminal project in Constanta.

The two officials pointed out that during the meeting they were analyzing the impact the situation in Georgia had on the development of the projects on the pipeline route transporting fuel from the Caspian Sea.

Georgia's integrity and independence is a key point for Romania. Creating a security and stability framework in the Black Sea area is a priority for us, same as for our European partners, I hope. The issue of frozen conflicts in the region is an extremely topical one that must benefit from the joint stance of the European states, PM Tariceanu said, mentioning in the context that the French EU chairmanship convened the EU Council summit, next week to discuss the EU policy towards the Russian Federation, after the latter's military intervention in Georgia.

Sen. Lugar reaffirmed the US endorsement for Georgia's territorial integrity and emphasized the requirement to solve the frozen conflicts issue, existing before the crisis occurred in Georgia this month, but which currently has became acute.

Likewise, the US official underscored that besides the energy problem worldwide there also was the problem related to the prices for food stressing that Romania could contribute to resolving it through increasing its farming production and implementing the latest scientific innovations in the development of its agriculture Sen. Richard Lugar's visit to Bucharest is part in a European tour devoted to the topic of energy security after the war between Georgia and the Russian Federation. Before coming to Romania Sen. Lugar visited France, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey and from Bucharest he leaves for Hungary, Ukraine, Germany and to NATO and EU hqs in Brussels.