Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Friday joined east European leaders at a summit in Azerbaijan aimed at promoting energy routes to Europe outside Russia`s influence.

Amid concerns in the region that US president-elect Barack Obama will see the Caucasus and eastern Europe as less of a priority, a senior US official told the summit he expected Washington to stay engaged in the area.

Gul joined the leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine for an energy meeting three months after Russia dropped bombs close to a crucial pipeline through the Caucasus state of Georgia in a brief war.

Amid renewed criticism of Russia by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the Turkish president steered clear of inflammatory rhetoric towards Turkey`s historical rival Moscow.

However, Gul emphasised NATO member Turkey`s desire for a greater diplomatic role in the region, after his government earlier proposed a new forum for cooperation in the South Caucasus.

`The crisis which broke out last August in Georgia confirmed that unsolved conflicts in the region constitute a major threat from the perspective of security and stability,` he said.

`Our idea is to transform the South Caucasus from a region that is known for its conflicts to a region that would set an example for cooperation,` Gul said.

Turkey, a close US ally, has become a growing player in the Middle East and Caucasus energy trade. It has a long history of involvement in the Caucasus as well as close linguistic and cultural links with Azerbaijan.

Russia made clear during the August war in Georgia that it considers itself the primary strategic power in the Caucasus.

Saakashvili condemned Russian attacks during the war over the rebel Georgian region of South Ossetia, which he said were meant to put in doubt the viability of energy routes through the Caucasus.

`This was clearly meant to send a warning to Europe that no matter what. Russia wants to control Europe`s energy supplies,` he said.

The leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine have already met repeatedly to discuss strengthening the corridor of energy routes that passes from the energy-rich Caspian towards Europe, but Friday`s meeting was the first time they were joined by Turkey.

US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the conflict in Georgia had shown `how important it is for Europe to diversify sources of supply` and predicted Washington would remain engaged in the region under Obama.

`It is my firm belief that these efforts and this region of the world will also be a priority for the next administration,` he said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, whose energy-rich country is at the centre of the group`s efforts, said he was `looking forward to establishing broader energy partnerships in the region.`

Saakashvili, who praised Azerbaijan for boosting gas exports to his country in recent years, told reporters on the sidelines of the summit the two countries had reached a five-year gas supply deal under which `the price for individual consumers will not change.` He provided no further details.

Azerbaijan`s state energy firms also agreed to begin shipments of Kazakh oil across the Caspian Sea from 2013.

The deal follows up on a 2006 agreement for Kazakhstan to participate in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, a Western-backed pipeline that bypasses Russia to deliver oil from Azerbaijan, through Georgia, to Turkey.

The project will see Kazakh state energy company Kazmunaigas ship oil in tankers across the Caspian for re-export, read a statement from Azerbaijani state energy company SOCAR.

The system`s initial shipment capacity will stand at 500,000 barrels per day and will eventually rise to 750,000-1,200,000 barrels, it said.

Backed by Western governments, international energy firms have invested heavily in building a corridor of oil and gas pipelines from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey, and then on to hungry Western markets.

The European Union is hoping to connect the network to its flagship Nabucco gas pipeline and both the EU and US are backing efforts to link Central Asian countries to the network through a trans-Caspian pipeline.

The summit follows the unveiling by the European Commission on Thursday of a plan to boost energy supply security and cut back dependency on Russia.