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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran, Turkey fail to sign energy deals |
| 2008-08-15 |
| ISTANBUL - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Turkish counterpart failed on Thursday to sign energy deals opposed by Washington, which is seeking to pressure Tehran into halting its nuclear programme. A joint statement from Ahmadinejad and President Abdullah Gul said the two countries would continue discussing further energy cooperation. No further explanation was given. Gul and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan have come under fire for inviting Ahmadinejad, who has lobbied hard since coming to power in 2005 to visit NATO member Turkey, which has strong ties with the United States and Israel. A source from Erdogan's office told Reuters earlier that Ahmadinejad's two-day working visit to Istanbul may no longer yield the expected oil and gas deals following new demands from the Iranian side, including pricing and investment conditions. After Russia, Iran is the biggest provider of gas to Turkey. The Turkish government has said Ahmadinejad's visit was necessary given the failure to resolve Tehran's nuclear programme, and offered to help resolve the dispute. "Turkey's effort is not to solve the problem but ease the tension and keep the crisis at controllable levels," Keskin said. Analysts also say Turkey may have played up the nuclear issue to diffuse criticism over inviting Ahmadinejad. Turkey's powerful secularist establishment has long opposed his visit on fears he would seek to export the Islamic revolution abroad. Ahmadinejad, in an live interview with Turkish broadcasters CNN Turk and NTV on Wednesday, said he did not see Turkey as a mediator in such talks but rather as a friend. Last July Turkey and Iran signed a preliminary agreement to export Iranian gas to Europe through Turkey, including a provision for Turkey to produce 20.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas in Iran's huge South Pars gas field. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #3 Was the coffee good? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-08-15 17:08 |
| #2 good for Turkey, and yes, good for Erdogan (even if he had to be pressured) |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2008-08-15 10:53 |
| #1 Hmmmm. one man's failure is another man's success. ;-) |
| Posted by: Spike Uniter 2008-08-15 08:31 |