ASHGABAT, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - The president of Turkmenistan, a major gas producer that has been in dispute with Russia over exports for much of the summer, has called for an international pact to ensure the security of global energy supplies.

"Today we are speaking not about the adoption of any preventive measures or local agreements on certain aspects of fuel transit, but about the establishment of a brand new, universal model of relations on the global energy market," Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

Turkmenistan has been pushing over the past few years for a UN convention to ensure international guarantees for the security of transnational pipeline systems, and has also been seeking to diversify its gas exports, which currently go to Russia or Iran.

Berdymukhamedov suggested that the United Nations set up an expert group to formulate recommendations for drafting an international legal document regulating energy transit, taking into account proposals from countries and international organizations concerned.

"We believe the establishment of an [expert] group could be the first step towards preparing recommendations to draft a comprehensive UN document aimed at ensuring the efficient functioning of the global system of energy supplies, including the protection of energy-carrying systems," the Turkmen president said.

On Wednesday, Berdymukhamedov met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. At the meeting he said his energy-rich country was seeking to diversify its supplies to global markets and that Turkmenistan was ready to cooperate with U.S. companies in the development of oil-and-gas fields in the Caspian Sea.

Turkmenistan's reliance on Russian pipelines means it cannot sell gas directly to European countries, but has to sell it to Russia, which then resells the gas to European countries. The fall in global energy prices and European demand for gas meant Russia was losing money on its fixed contract with Turkmenistan.

Deliveries to Russia were halted in April following an accident at a Turkmen pumping station that each side blamed on the other, and a deal to restart the flow of gas was only agreed on September 13.

A pipeline to China is due to come on line soon, and Berdymukhamedov in July expressed willingness to supply gas to Europe via the planned Nabucco pipeline, which would bypass Russia.

For Turkmenistan to supply gas to the Nabucco project, a pipeline would need to be laid under the Caspian to connect Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.