AP: Turkey's president said Tuesday that natural gas from Iran and Iraq could help fill a pipeline that would transport the commodity from the Caucasus, through Turkey, and on to Western markets.
The Associated Press
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's president said Tuesday that natural gas from Iran and Iraq could help fill a pipeline that would transport the commodity from the Caucasus, through Turkey, and on to Western markets.
Abdullah Gul said "the most important issue regarding this project is to obtain enough gas." Gul said Turkey could import gas from Iraq through a new pipeline which is yet to reach the Turkish border, and buy more gas from Iran to feed the Nabucco pipeline.
Gul said he discussed the project with visiting Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.
The U.S.- and EU-backed pipeline would ease Europe's reliance on Russian energy. It will run from the Caspian Sea across Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria.
The EU currently gets about one-third of its oil and about 40 percent of its natural gas imports from Russia.
