EUbusiness (press release), UK
Feb 18 2008

French minister blames Turkish interference for GDF’s Nabucco snub
18 February 2008, 18:56 CET
(ISTANBUL) – France’s junior trade minister on Monday blamed Turkish
political interference for Gaz de France’s (GDF) failure to become a
partner in the European Union’s Nabucco pipeline.

"There has been a Turkish decision that was not independent of
political considerations," Herve Novelli told reporters here during a
visit to Turkey.

"We take notice (of this decision) and we regret it… It is really a
pity because (GDF’s) offer had all the qualities to be accepted, but
we are looking forward now and that is why we are here," he said.

The Nabucco pipeline is a five-billion-euro (7.4-billion-dollar)
venture to feed 31 billion cubic metres of gas each year from the
Caspian Sea to Europe from 2012 at the earliest.

German power giant RWE was named earlier this month as the sixth
partner in the project, at the expense of GDF. The other partners are
OMV of Austria, MOL of Hungary, Transgaz of Romania, Bulgargaz of
Bulgaria and Botas of Turkey.

A source close to the project said at the time that Turkey vetoed
GDF’s participation in retaliation to the French parliament’s
recognition in 2001 as genocide of the World War I mass killings of
Armenians in Turkey’s predecessor, the Ottoman Empire.

Novelli said at the time that "all was not lost" and that "there is
still room" for GDF in the Nabucco project.

But on Monday, the minister said that GDF had withdrawn its candidacy
from Nabucco.

Following its rejection from the project, GDF said it was weighing
participation in a Russian-Italian gas pipeline project.

Novelli was expected to meet his Turkish counterpart Kursat Tuzmen
and Energy Minister Hilmi Guler in Ankara on Tuesday before wrapping
up his visit on Wednesday.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress