Washington briefing: Turkey agrees with Europeans over gas transit

by Emil Sanamyan

Published: Monday July 20, 2009

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Washington - After months of disagreements, Turkey signed an agreement with Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, and Austria to serve as a transit point for natural gas supplies to Europe, news agencies reported.

The July 13 agreement removed a major roadblock toward the construction of what is known as the Nabucco gas pipeline, championed by the United States and the European Union as a way to ease Europeans' reliance on natural-gas supplies from Russia.

By agreeing to the project in principle, Turkey is seen as favoring the West over the Russian-proposed South Stream pipeline.

The gas is expected to come initially from Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, as well as Iraq, whose energy sector was recently opened to foreign companies. Russia has in turn been seeking to buy up Central Asian gas to keep its dominant share of European markets.

Russia is the world's largest gas producer. Iran is the second-largest, but it has been largely shut out of European markets due to Western sanctions.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza, who was present at the signing in Ankara, argued that the Nabucco line can be filled by Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Iraq, without Iran taking part.