Kazakhstan moots idea of Caspian-Black Sea canal

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev raised the idea on Sunday of building a canal between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea to ease trade between Central Asia and world markets.

Nazarbayev told the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that such a canal would be 1,000 km (600 miles) shorter than sending goods via Russia's Volga-Don canal network.

"This canal would be a sizeable export corridor for the whole of Central Asia to the sea via Russia," Nazarbayev said.

He said Central Asia, which relies on Russian-controlled export routes for its exports of oil, gas and other goods, needed a range of options for its trade.

He gave no details of the proposed route. The two seas are divided by a mountainous region encompassing Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, southern Russia and northeastern Turkey.