US says no to Iranian gas
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 06, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The U.S. does not support Iran's involvement in the Nabucco gas project, said the U.S. special energy envoy for Eurasian energy issues
U.S. special envoy Richard Morningstar said Iran's participation in Nabucco could only be possible after a normalization of diplomatic. The Nabucco gas pipeline would supply natural gas to Europe by linking the Caspian Sea region, Middle East and Egypt to the European Union via Turkey. Morningstar told a group of reporters Thursday that inviting Iran to the project without a resolution to the standoff over its nuclear program could "have a negative effect."
"We don't want to change our policy unless Iran changes its policy," he said. Nabucco is designed to reduce EU dependence on Russian natural gas, but the project has yet to secure suppliers to make it viable.
"We think there are sources," Morningstar said, urging countries such as Turkmenistan to increase production of gas. Morningstar, meanwhile, signaled an end to a dispute between Turkey and the EU over gas transit fees and other issues that have been slowing progress on Europe's attempts to diversify its gas sources. "As I understand, there will not be a 15 percent lift off," Morningstar said in reference to the previous Turkish demand to use 15 percent of the gas for domestic consumption.
"We don't want to change our policy unless Iran changes its policy," he said. Nabucco is designed to reduce EU dependence on Russian natural gas, but the project has yet to secure suppliers to make it viable.
"We think there are sources," Morningstar said, urging countries such as Turkmenistan to increase production of gas. Morningstar, meanwhile, signaled an end to a dispute between Turkey and the EU over gas transit fees and other issues that have been slowing progress on Europe's attempts to diversify its gas sources. "As I understand, there will not be a 15 percent lift off," Morningstar said in reference to the previous Turkish demand to use 15 percent of the gas for domestic consumption.