TURKEY-GAS DE FRANCE CONFRONTATION BECAUSE OF GENOCIDE DRAFT CONTINUED
Noyan Tapan
Apr 10 2007
ANKARA, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the Turkish NTV TV, the
Embassy of France in Ankara demanded from the Turkish authorities
to explain why the program on building the joint gas pipe line with
the Gas de France company was dampened. It is known that with this
step Turkey expresses protest against the French draft criminalizing
denial of the Armenian Genocide.
According to Turkish sources, officials of the European Union also
expressed surprise why such a decision was made in a half a year after
adoption of the French draft. That step is estimated in Brussels as
a warning to the European Union with the help of France.
Turkey stopped the last week the negotiations on the Nabucco gas pipe
line with Gas de France, as a sign of protest against the last French
draft on the Armenian Genocide. That gas pipe line was to provide
natural gas from Near East and Central Asia to Austria through Turkey.
According to the expectations, the Nabucco gas pipe line of in total
4.6 bln evros will reduce dependence of the European Union from the
Russian gas.
This gas pipe line will also pass through the territory of Bulgaria,
Romania and Hungary which reached agreement with Gas de France.