Obama Türkiye bağlamında zorlu dış politika tercihleriyle karşı karşıya.
20 Ocak'ta ABD başkanlığı koltuğuna oturacak olan Barack Obama Türkiye bağlamında zorlu dış politika tercihleriyle karşı karşıya. Obama, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) ve karşıtları arasında süren laiklik ve demokrasi mücadelesinde bir taraf seçecek mi? Yakınlarda nükleer silahlar konusunda ABD'nin ikiyüzlülüğünden dem vuran Başbakan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'ın başında bulunduğu isteksiz AKP'nin İran'a karşı ABD'yi desteklemesini sağlama gücü var mı? Obama Irak'tan çekilmeye, Afganistan'a yeni bir açılımda bulunmaya ve Rusya'yla uğraşmaya hazırlanırken, Rusya ve Ortadoğu arasında gergin ama stratejik olarak iyi konumlanmış bir müttefike, yani Türkiye'ye sırtını yaslayabilir mi? Zorluklar devasa görünüyor ama çözüm zor değil: Obama Türkiye'nin Avrupa Birliği'ne (AB) üyelik sürecini ve NATO üyeliğini Türkiye politikalarında temel çıtalar olarak kullanabilir.
Türkiye bir Avrupa demokrasisi mi?
Obama Türkiye politikasını oluştururken, iki soruya kendi cevaplarını vermeli. İlk soru ise şu olmalı: "Türkiye Avrupalı mı?" Cevap evet; Türkiye AB ile üyelik görüşmeleri yürütüyor. Türkiye Avrupa milletler ailesinin bir üyesi olduğu için, Obama Türk demokrasisinden herhangi bir AB demokrasisinden ne bekliyorsa aynısını beklemeli. Bir diplomat arkadaşım şöyle demişti: "Türkiye iyi durumda çünkü ülkenin İslamcıları bile Mısır'da demokrat sayılır." Doğru çünkü Mısır ya da diğer Müslüman Ortadoğulu ülkelerdeki gibi Türkiye'nin de nüfusu çok büyük oranda Müslüman. Ama temelde yanlış bir saptama, çünkü Türkiye'nin siyasi sistemi Avrupa tipi laik demokrasi. Türkiye'yi siyasi açıdan Müslüman ama demokratik olmayan Mısır'la kıyaslamak ABD'yi Hıristiyan ama demokratik olmayan Beyaz Rusya (Belarus) ile kıyaslamak kadar kötü bir hata olur. Türkiye'nin liberal ve laik bir demokrasi olma özelliği göz önüne alındığında, Obama'nın Türkiye ile ilgili siyası kıstası da Türkiye gibi laik Avrupa demokrasisi olan İtalya ve Fransa olmalı, Mısır ya da Suudi Arabistan değil.
Obama Türkiye'de liberal Avrupa demokrasisi taraftarı olmalı. Ancak bu afaki bir seçim olmamalı. Geçmişte Türkiye katılım müzakereleri başlıklarının bir kısmını açarak, örneğin süpermarketlerde hijyen koşullarını yükselten AB standartlarını uyarlayarak AB'ye yaklaştı. Oysa aslında ülke Avrupa ve onun değerlerinden uzaklaştı. Birçok veri alarm veren bir vakayı işaret ediyor: Türkiye bugün AKP'nin iktidara geldiği 2002'ye göre daha az özgür ve daha az eşit. Birleşmiş Milletler Gelişim Programı'nın cinsiyetler arası eşitlik endeksine göre Türkiye 2002'de sıralamada 63. idi. Bugün dramatik bir şekilde 90. sıraya geriledi. Dünya Ekonomik Forumu'nun cinsiyetler arası uçurum raporu da benzer bir gerçeği gözler önüne seriyor. 2002'de Türkiye sıralamada 105. iken 2008 yılında 123. sıraya düştü. Freedom House'un medya özgürlüğü endeksi bugün Türkiye'de basının 2002'e kıyasla daha fazla kısıtlamaya maruz kaldığını açıklıyor. O yıl 100. sıradayken 2008'de Türkiye 103. sıraya kaymış.
Sonuç olarak, Obama Türkiye'den hukukun üstünlüğü, cinsiyet eşitliği ve medya özgürlüğü gibi liberal Avrupalı değerleri daha sağlam temellere oturtmasını beklemeli. Avrupa Obama için kullanışlı bir kriter ve siyasi çıta olabilir. Türkiye laiklikle demokrasi arasında denge kurmaya çabalarken Obama da Türkiye'de Avrupa tarzı laik devletle dini özgürlükler arası dengeyi teşvik edebilir. Tabii AB kriteri çift yönlü bir yol. Obama Türkiye'den Avrupalı bir demokrasi olmasını beklerken, aynı zamanda Türkiye'nin AB'ye üyelik sürecindeki kördüğümü de çözmeli. Türkiye'nin AB ile yürüttüğü yavaşlatılmış müzakereleri yeniden rayına oturtmak için Obama Avrupa çapında cazibesini kullanırsa, Avrupalı Türkiye düşüncesini gerçeğe dönüştürebilir.
Türkiye NATO üyesi mi?
Nasıl ki Avrupa Obama'ya Türkiye'nin iç politikası için bir standart ve siyasi çıta sağlıyorsa, NATO da aynısını dış politika için yapıyor. Bu nedenle, Obama'nın ele alması gereken ikinci soru, "Türkiye NATO üyesi mi" olmalı. Cevap yeniden evet. Bu durumda, Obama Türkiye'den İran ve Rusya gibi karmaşık dış politika konularında bir NATO üyesi gibi davranmasını bekleyebilir, beklemeli.
Ankara'nın NATO üyesi olduğu 1952'den beri Türkiye'nin dahil olmadığı tek bir NATO operasyonu yok. Bu yüzden NATO çok önemli bir referans noktası olarak kabul edilmeli. Eğer Obama NATO'yu ortak bir İran, Afganistan ya da Rusya politikası oluşturmak konusunda ikna edebilirse ve de Transatlantik bağlarını yenileyebilirse, Türkiye'nin bu kolektif güvenlik örgütüne karşı görevlerini tam anlamıyla yerine getirmesini umabilir.
Tıpkı AB kriteri gibi, NATO seçeneği de ABD'nin karşılıklılık ilkesini benimsemesini gerektiriyor. Washington defalarca Türkiye'yi Batılı bir devlet ve NATO müttefiki olarak kabul ettiğini ifade etse de öyle davranmadı, Türkiye'nin teröre karşı yürüttüğü mücadelede Batılı düzeyde destek vermedi. Oysa Washington İngiltere'den Kolombiya'ya kadar Batılı müttefiklerine karşı-terörizm konusunda ciddi yardım sağlamıştı. ABD'nin Türkiye'yi Batılı bir devlet ve NATO müttefiki olarak görüp görmediğiyle ilgili turnusol kağıdı testinin sonucunu belirleyecek olansa PKK'nın saldırıları karşısında vereceği destektir. Bununla beraber Kuzey Irak'taki PKK varlığı karşısında, Bush yönetimi Türkiye'ye gecikmiş ve sınırlı bir yardım yapmıştı. Obama ise Türkiye'ye PKK konusunda artan bir destek sağlayarak, Türkiye'yi NATO ittifakının tam üyesi olarak gördüğüne dair işaret gönderebilir.
Türkiye'nin stratejik konumu göz önüne alındığında, Obama'nın Türkiye'yi iyi anlaması Irak, İran, Rusya ve Afganistan gibi yerlerde başarı kazanması için çok büyük önem taşıyor. Daha da önemlisi, Obama gerçekten Türkiye'yi Batı yanlısı ve liberal bir demokrasi olarak Avrupa ve Batı blokunun bir parçası yapmayı hedefliyorsa, bunun yolu yine Türkiye'yi iyi anlamaktan geçiyor. Brüksel ve Ankara müstakbel Başkan'a kollarını sonuna kadar açmışken, bunu başarmak çok da zor olmasa gerek.
(Çağaptay, Washington Enstitüsü Yakın Doğu Araştırmaları'nda kıdemli araştırmacıdır.)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Katiller yaratan karanlığa ışık düşürmek için...
İSTANBUL - AGOS’un Genel Yayın Yönetmeni Hrant Dink, iki yıl önce öldürüldüğü gazete binası önünde toplanan 10 bin kişi tarafından anıldı. Anmada Türkçe, Kürtçe, Ermenice ve İngilizce ‘Hrant için adalet için’ yazılı dövizler taşındı; ‘Hrant’ın katili çete devleti’ sloganları atıldı ve Filistin bayrakları taşındı. Geçen yıl olduğu gibi törenin ardından Taksim’e yürüyen bir gruba polis biber gazıyla müdahale etti.
Hrant Dink’ın anma eylemi duyurulurken ‘Adalet için, eşitlik için, bebeklerden katil yaratan karanlığa ışık düşürmek için bir araya geliyoruz’ deniyordu. Anma töreni, cinayetin işlendiği Halaskargâzi Caddesi’ndeki AGOS Gazetesi binası önünde dün saat 14.30’da başladı. Dink’in öldürüldüğü kaldırıma karanfiller, yanan mumlar ve üzerinde ‘Hrant için adalet için’ yazılı bir pankart bırakıldı. Ayrıca binanın her iki penceresine de aynı sloganın yazıldığı bir pankart ve Dink’in fotoğrafı asıldı.
Filistin bayrakları da vardı
Katılımcılar da üzerinde aynı sloganın Türkçe, Kürtçe, Ermenice ve İngilizce versiyonlarının yazıldığı yuvarlak dövizler taşıdı. Sık sık ‘Hrant’ın katili çete devleti’, ‘Hrant Dink’in katili Ergenekon’, ‘Hepimiz Hrantız, hepimiz Ermeniyiz’, ‘Faşizme inat kardeşimsin Hrant’ ve Türkçe ‘Hrant seni unutmayacağız’ anlamına gelen Ermenice ‘Hrant kerzi çi bidi mornank’ sloganları atıldı. ‘Hepimiz Filistinliyiz’ sloganlarının da atıldığı anmada Filistin bayrakları da taşındı.
Gazete binası önü kol kola giren gençler tarafından çevrelenirken, binada Dink’in eşi Rakel, oğlu Arat, kızları Delal, Sera, kardeşleri Orhan ve Levent, ailenin avukatı Fethiye Çetin ve AGOS çalışanları hazır bulundu.
‘Özür diliyorum’
Alanda toplanan insan sayısı giderek arttı ve cadde trafiğe kapatıldı. Yaklaşık 10 bin kişinin katıldığı tören Dink için bir dakikalık saygı duruşuyla başladı. Dink’in arkadaşları adına oyuncu Halil Ergün bir konuşma yaparken, Dink’i eşi Rakel Dink pencereye çıkarak katılımcılara el salladı. Ergün Hrant’tan ve Ermenilerden özür dilediğini belirterek, “Kardeşim Hrant yetim bir halkın yetim çocuğuydu ve biz o yetim çocuğu kaybettik. İçimizden bizden birisi olarak konuştu, yüreklerimize seslendi. Tarihimizle yüzleşmek için önemli bir tutamaktı... Şimdi ben senden ve bu toprağın Ermenilerinden özür diliyorum. Buradakileri de özür dilemeye çağırıyorum” diye konuştu. Ergün konuşmasını alkışlar eşliğinde üç kez özür dileyerek bitirdi.
Bir duduk sanatçısının ‘Sarı gelin’ ve diğer Ermenice ve Türkçe ezgileri çaldığı anma boyunca katılımcılar gözyaşı döktü.
Taksim’de müdahale
Dink’in öldürüldüğü akşam yuhalanan CHP İlçe örgütü Şişli’de, ‘Katledilişin 2. yılında Hrant Dink’i saygıyla anıyoruz’ yazılı pankart astı. Törenin ardından Taksim’e yürüyen bir grup ile polis arasında gerginlik yaşandı. Gruptakilerden bazılarının polise taş atması üzerine, güvenlik güçleri biber gazıyla grubu dağıttı.
***
Fotoğraftaki çocuğu çok özledik
İSTANBUL- AGOS gazetesi dün ‘Fotoğraftaki çocuk’ manşetiyle çıktı. Dink’in çocukluk fotoğrafının birinci sayfadan basıldığı yazıda “İçindeki çocuğu çoktan öldürmüş olanlar, onun karşısında aciz hissettiler kendilerini. Yitirmiş oldukları vicdanın ve yüreğin acısını da ondan çıkarmak istediler” denildi.
AGOS, dünkü sayısında sukastın ikinci yıl raporuna yer verirken, cinayetin kronolojisini de yazdı. Manşetteki ‘ Fotoğraftaki çocuk’ yazısında şöyle denildi: “Herkes gibi bir çocuktu o da. Aynen bizler gibi, çocuk olarak çıktı yola. İçinde görünmek, duyulmak, sevilmek arzusuyla...Çocuk, kendi farklılığının farkındaydı. Hem keyfini çıkardığı hem de bu yüzden biraz utandığı bir farktı bu. Herkesle eşit olmaya, hak yememeye, yatkındı... Korkmadığı için de, büyüse de çocuk kaldı...Ölüm onu korkutup avucunun içine alamadı... Çocukluk ona ölümsüzlük getirdi. Ruhunu ve vicdanını temiz bıraktı. İçindeki çocuğu çoktan öldürmüş olanlar, onun karşısında aciz hissettiler kendilerini. Yitirmiş oldukları vicdanın ve yüreğin acısını da ondan çıkarmak istediler...O çocuğu özlüyoruz...”
***
Adalet için yanıtlanması gereken çok soru var
Dink’in öldürülmesinin ikinci yılında halen yanıtı bulunmamış pek çok soru var. Henüz Dink’i öldüren silahı sanıkların kimlerden alındığı bile açığa çıkarılamamışken ortaya çıkarılan suçluların arkasında, onları yönlendiren güçlerinin olduğu şüphesi devam ediyor.
Dink cinayetinin yargı sürecinde Trabzon’da BBP çevresinde örgütlenmiş bir grup sanık sandalyesinde oturdu. Ancak cinayette rol alan güçlerin onlarla sınırlı olmadığını düşündürecek gelişmeler hiç eksik olmadı. Cinayetin azmettiricisi olarak yargılanan Erhan Tuncel’in polisin yardımcı istihbarat elemanı olduğunun ortaya çıkmasıyla katillerin devlet ile bağlantısı gündeme geldi. Suikastın azmettiricisi Yasin Hayal’in eniştesi Çoşkun İğci ise Dink’i öldürecek silah aranırken jandarmayı haberdar etmişti. Polis ve jandarmanın istihbaratının cinayet planını bilmesine karşın devletin suikaste engel olmaması en büyük şüphe.
Ogün Samast cinayetten önce yaşadığı Pelitli’deki arkadaşlarına İstanbul’dan gelen ve aralarında ‘Başkan’ diye hitap edilen bir liderin olduğu kişilerle toplantı yaptıklarını, cinayete karar verdiklerini anlattı. Ancak cinayetten sonra bu sözlerini yalanladı. Hrant Dink öldürülmesinden önce Ogün Samast’ı olay yerinde gören bir görgü tanığı ise yanında iki kişinin olduğunu söylemişti. Başka tanıkları da Samast ile birlikte bir kişinin kaçtığını anlatmıştı. Son dönemde ortaya çıkan bilgiler de şüpheleri artırdı. Başbakanlık Teftiş Kurulu müfettişlerinin hazırladığı raporda Yasin Hayal 2004’te gerçekleştirdiği Mc Donald’s bombalaması öncesinde Amerika ve Almanya gibi ülkelerle telefon görüşmeleri yaptığı tespit edildi. Ancak detaylı inceleme talepleri kabul edilmedi. Ayrıca Yasin Hayal’in Mc Donald’s bombalaması döneminde ‘Sinan Raşitoğlu’ isimli bir polis muhbiriyle defalarca görüştüğü belirlendi. Yasin Hayal’in ağabeyi Osman Hayal’in cep telefonunun cinayet günü İstanbul’dan sinyal verdiği belirlendi.
Hrant Dink’ın anma eylemi duyurulurken ‘Adalet için, eşitlik için, bebeklerden katil yaratan karanlığa ışık düşürmek için bir araya geliyoruz’ deniyordu. Anma töreni, cinayetin işlendiği Halaskargâzi Caddesi’ndeki AGOS Gazetesi binası önünde dün saat 14.30’da başladı. Dink’in öldürüldüğü kaldırıma karanfiller, yanan mumlar ve üzerinde ‘Hrant için adalet için’ yazılı bir pankart bırakıldı. Ayrıca binanın her iki penceresine de aynı sloganın yazıldığı bir pankart ve Dink’in fotoğrafı asıldı.
Filistin bayrakları da vardı
Katılımcılar da üzerinde aynı sloganın Türkçe, Kürtçe, Ermenice ve İngilizce versiyonlarının yazıldığı yuvarlak dövizler taşıdı. Sık sık ‘Hrant’ın katili çete devleti’, ‘Hrant Dink’in katili Ergenekon’, ‘Hepimiz Hrantız, hepimiz Ermeniyiz’, ‘Faşizme inat kardeşimsin Hrant’ ve Türkçe ‘Hrant seni unutmayacağız’ anlamına gelen Ermenice ‘Hrant kerzi çi bidi mornank’ sloganları atıldı. ‘Hepimiz Filistinliyiz’ sloganlarının da atıldığı anmada Filistin bayrakları da taşındı.
Gazete binası önü kol kola giren gençler tarafından çevrelenirken, binada Dink’in eşi Rakel, oğlu Arat, kızları Delal, Sera, kardeşleri Orhan ve Levent, ailenin avukatı Fethiye Çetin ve AGOS çalışanları hazır bulundu.
‘Özür diliyorum’
Alanda toplanan insan sayısı giderek arttı ve cadde trafiğe kapatıldı. Yaklaşık 10 bin kişinin katıldığı tören Dink için bir dakikalık saygı duruşuyla başladı. Dink’in arkadaşları adına oyuncu Halil Ergün bir konuşma yaparken, Dink’i eşi Rakel Dink pencereye çıkarak katılımcılara el salladı. Ergün Hrant’tan ve Ermenilerden özür dilediğini belirterek, “Kardeşim Hrant yetim bir halkın yetim çocuğuydu ve biz o yetim çocuğu kaybettik. İçimizden bizden birisi olarak konuştu, yüreklerimize seslendi. Tarihimizle yüzleşmek için önemli bir tutamaktı... Şimdi ben senden ve bu toprağın Ermenilerinden özür diliyorum. Buradakileri de özür dilemeye çağırıyorum” diye konuştu. Ergün konuşmasını alkışlar eşliğinde üç kez özür dileyerek bitirdi.
Bir duduk sanatçısının ‘Sarı gelin’ ve diğer Ermenice ve Türkçe ezgileri çaldığı anma boyunca katılımcılar gözyaşı döktü.
Taksim’de müdahale
Dink’in öldürüldüğü akşam yuhalanan CHP İlçe örgütü Şişli’de, ‘Katledilişin 2. yılında Hrant Dink’i saygıyla anıyoruz’ yazılı pankart astı. Törenin ardından Taksim’e yürüyen bir grup ile polis arasında gerginlik yaşandı. Gruptakilerden bazılarının polise taş atması üzerine, güvenlik güçleri biber gazıyla grubu dağıttı.
***
Fotoğraftaki çocuğu çok özledik
İSTANBUL- AGOS gazetesi dün ‘Fotoğraftaki çocuk’ manşetiyle çıktı. Dink’in çocukluk fotoğrafının birinci sayfadan basıldığı yazıda “İçindeki çocuğu çoktan öldürmüş olanlar, onun karşısında aciz hissettiler kendilerini. Yitirmiş oldukları vicdanın ve yüreğin acısını da ondan çıkarmak istediler” denildi.
AGOS, dünkü sayısında sukastın ikinci yıl raporuna yer verirken, cinayetin kronolojisini de yazdı. Manşetteki ‘ Fotoğraftaki çocuk’ yazısında şöyle denildi: “Herkes gibi bir çocuktu o da. Aynen bizler gibi, çocuk olarak çıktı yola. İçinde görünmek, duyulmak, sevilmek arzusuyla...Çocuk, kendi farklılığının farkındaydı. Hem keyfini çıkardığı hem de bu yüzden biraz utandığı bir farktı bu. Herkesle eşit olmaya, hak yememeye, yatkındı... Korkmadığı için de, büyüse de çocuk kaldı...Ölüm onu korkutup avucunun içine alamadı... Çocukluk ona ölümsüzlük getirdi. Ruhunu ve vicdanını temiz bıraktı. İçindeki çocuğu çoktan öldürmüş olanlar, onun karşısında aciz hissettiler kendilerini. Yitirmiş oldukları vicdanın ve yüreğin acısını da ondan çıkarmak istediler...O çocuğu özlüyoruz...”
***
Adalet için yanıtlanması gereken çok soru var
Dink’in öldürülmesinin ikinci yılında halen yanıtı bulunmamış pek çok soru var. Henüz Dink’i öldüren silahı sanıkların kimlerden alındığı bile açığa çıkarılamamışken ortaya çıkarılan suçluların arkasında, onları yönlendiren güçlerinin olduğu şüphesi devam ediyor.
Dink cinayetinin yargı sürecinde Trabzon’da BBP çevresinde örgütlenmiş bir grup sanık sandalyesinde oturdu. Ancak cinayette rol alan güçlerin onlarla sınırlı olmadığını düşündürecek gelişmeler hiç eksik olmadı. Cinayetin azmettiricisi olarak yargılanan Erhan Tuncel’in polisin yardımcı istihbarat elemanı olduğunun ortaya çıkmasıyla katillerin devlet ile bağlantısı gündeme geldi. Suikastın azmettiricisi Yasin Hayal’in eniştesi Çoşkun İğci ise Dink’i öldürecek silah aranırken jandarmayı haberdar etmişti. Polis ve jandarmanın istihbaratının cinayet planını bilmesine karşın devletin suikaste engel olmaması en büyük şüphe.
Ogün Samast cinayetten önce yaşadığı Pelitli’deki arkadaşlarına İstanbul’dan gelen ve aralarında ‘Başkan’ diye hitap edilen bir liderin olduğu kişilerle toplantı yaptıklarını, cinayete karar verdiklerini anlattı. Ancak cinayetten sonra bu sözlerini yalanladı. Hrant Dink öldürülmesinden önce Ogün Samast’ı olay yerinde gören bir görgü tanığı ise yanında iki kişinin olduğunu söylemişti. Başka tanıkları da Samast ile birlikte bir kişinin kaçtığını anlatmıştı. Son dönemde ortaya çıkan bilgiler de şüpheleri artırdı. Başbakanlık Teftiş Kurulu müfettişlerinin hazırladığı raporda Yasin Hayal 2004’te gerçekleştirdiği Mc Donald’s bombalaması öncesinde Amerika ve Almanya gibi ülkelerle telefon görüşmeleri yaptığı tespit edildi. Ancak detaylı inceleme talepleri kabul edilmedi. Ayrıca Yasin Hayal’in Mc Donald’s bombalaması döneminde ‘Sinan Raşitoğlu’ isimli bir polis muhbiriyle defalarca görüştüğü belirlendi. Yasin Hayal’in ağabeyi Osman Hayal’in cep telefonunun cinayet günü İstanbul’dan sinyal verdiği belirlendi.
Turkey links pipeline to EU membership talks
By Tony Barber in Brussels
Published: January 19 2009 20:20 | Last updated: January 19 2009 20:20
Turkey signalled today it might withhold support from the Nabucco gas pipeline, a project viewed as central to Europe’s drive for energy security, unless the European Union unblocked the energy section of Turkey’s EU membership talks.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, delivered the warning at a time when Europe’s energy worries have never been higher, with a Russian-Ukrainian dispute depriving Europe of Russian gas supplies for almost two weeks so far this winter.
Mr Erdogan was speaking at a think-tank conference in Brussels, where he was making his first visit to EU headquarters since 2004 in an attempt to inject fresh life into Turkey’s EU membership bid.
“If we are faced with a situation where the energy chapter is blocked, we would of course review our position,” Mr Erdogan said, referring to Nabucco, a planned 3,300km-long pipeline intended to transport gas from the Caspian Sea and central Asia through Turkey to Europe.
Since it started its EU membership talks in October 2005, Turkey has opened 10 of the 35 chapters, or policy areas, that must be completed before a country can enter the bloc. However, the EU froze eight chapters in 2006, citing Turkey’s refusal to open its ports and airports to vessels and aircraft from the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government of Cyprus.
In addition, to the dismay of EU member states sympathetic to Turkey, Cyprus is blocking the start of talks on the energy section of Turkey’s accession negotiations.
José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, said after talks with Mr Erdogan today that European and Turkish energy security was too important to be held hostage by Turkey’s EU membership bid.
“We should not link the question of energy security to a specific point we’re dealing with in the accession negotiations,” Mr Barroso said. “At the Commission we’re doing everything we can to unblock every chapter, including the energy chapter.”
Mr Erdogan, speaking with Mr Barroso at his side, appeared to soften his warning on Nabucco without withdrawing it. “The Nabucco project is very important. We are aware of our responsibilities,” he said.
Question marks hang over Nabucco, because construction of the pipeline, due to be completed by 2014, has not begun and the cost is estimated at €8bn ($10.5bn, £7.2bn), up from €5bn when it was first proposed.
Moreover, it remains doubtful that the countries identified by the EU as potential suppliers have enough gas to provide Europe with the planned 31bn cubic metres a year.
Published: January 19 2009 20:20 | Last updated: January 19 2009 20:20
Turkey signalled today it might withhold support from the Nabucco gas pipeline, a project viewed as central to Europe’s drive for energy security, unless the European Union unblocked the energy section of Turkey’s EU membership talks.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, delivered the warning at a time when Europe’s energy worries have never been higher, with a Russian-Ukrainian dispute depriving Europe of Russian gas supplies for almost two weeks so far this winter.
Mr Erdogan was speaking at a think-tank conference in Brussels, where he was making his first visit to EU headquarters since 2004 in an attempt to inject fresh life into Turkey’s EU membership bid.
“If we are faced with a situation where the energy chapter is blocked, we would of course review our position,” Mr Erdogan said, referring to Nabucco, a planned 3,300km-long pipeline intended to transport gas from the Caspian Sea and central Asia through Turkey to Europe.
Since it started its EU membership talks in October 2005, Turkey has opened 10 of the 35 chapters, or policy areas, that must be completed before a country can enter the bloc. However, the EU froze eight chapters in 2006, citing Turkey’s refusal to open its ports and airports to vessels and aircraft from the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government of Cyprus.
In addition, to the dismay of EU member states sympathetic to Turkey, Cyprus is blocking the start of talks on the energy section of Turkey’s accession negotiations.
José Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, said after talks with Mr Erdogan today that European and Turkish energy security was too important to be held hostage by Turkey’s EU membership bid.
“We should not link the question of energy security to a specific point we’re dealing with in the accession negotiations,” Mr Barroso said. “At the Commission we’re doing everything we can to unblock every chapter, including the energy chapter.”
Mr Erdogan, speaking with Mr Barroso at his side, appeared to soften his warning on Nabucco without withdrawing it. “The Nabucco project is very important. We are aware of our responsibilities,” he said.
Question marks hang over Nabucco, because construction of the pipeline, due to be completed by 2014, has not begun and the cost is estimated at €8bn ($10.5bn, £7.2bn), up from €5bn when it was first proposed.
Moreover, it remains doubtful that the countries identified by the EU as potential suppliers have enough gas to provide Europe with the planned 31bn cubic metres a year.
Israel indicates rapid withdrawal
By Heba Saleh in Cairo and Tobias Buck and Andrew England in Jerusalem
Published: January 18 2009 18:02 | Last updated: January 19 2009 11:08
Israel on Monday opened three border crossings to allow in aid to the battered Gaza Strip and indicated that it would withdraw all of its troops ahead of Tuesday’s US presidential inauguration. Egypt was also due to open the Rafah crossing in the south of Gaza.
Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, said on Monday that as long as Gaza remains quiet Israel’s pullback will be “almost immediate”.
There were no reports of fighting overnight on Monday and Israeli reservists called up to support regular units were being sent home, according to reports.
On Sunday world leaders rushed to shore up the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after both Israel and the Islamist Hamas group said they would end hostilities after three weeks of bloody fighting.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey met Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian president, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to push for a durable end to the war. They called for an opening of the strip’s border crossings, offered to help in the rebuilding of Gaza, and promised to aid Egyptian efforts to put an end to weapons smuggling into the strip – an Israeli demand.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said European leaders would tell Israel “that we are at its side to assure its right to security but [it] must indicate clearly that if the rocket firing stops, the Israeli army will leave Gaza”.
Hamas on Sunday followed Israel in declaring a ceasefire, offering the best chance yet to end a conflict that has claimed the lives of at least 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. However, the Islamist group, along with other militant Palestinian factions in Gaza, said Israeli troops had to leave the territory within a week.
Gaza-based groups had fired at least 20 rockets on nearby Israeli towns in the hours leading up to the Hamas announcement, but the ceasefire appeared to hold in the afternoon and evening.
The move came in response to Israel’s declaration of a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday night. Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, said the country’s offensive had achieved all its goals. He added that Israeli troops would remain in the Gaza Strip for the time being, but would withdraw if Hamas held fire as well.
A spokesman for Mr Olmert declined to comment on Hamas’s one-week ultimatum, saying the government was not in negotiations with the group. However, he added that Israel had “no intention” of staying in the Gaza Strip for long, and that a withdrawal could take place quickly.
The Sharm el-Sheikh conference also provided an opportunity to try to shore up the credibility of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority. The PA, which was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007, has been largely sidelined during the conflict, and Mr Abbas has faced criticism from Palestinians for not responding decisively to the crisis. He took part in the gathering and addressed the press alongside the European leaders.
The presence of international leaders offered support for Mr Mubarak, who has faced intense pressure from Arab countries such as Syria and Qatar for Egypt’s close ties with Israel and his refusal to open the country’s border with Gaza to help the beleaguered population.
Published: January 18 2009 18:02 | Last updated: January 19 2009 11:08
Israel on Monday opened three border crossings to allow in aid to the battered Gaza Strip and indicated that it would withdraw all of its troops ahead of Tuesday’s US presidential inauguration. Egypt was also due to open the Rafah crossing in the south of Gaza.
Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, said on Monday that as long as Gaza remains quiet Israel’s pullback will be “almost immediate”.
There were no reports of fighting overnight on Monday and Israeli reservists called up to support regular units were being sent home, according to reports.
On Sunday world leaders rushed to shore up the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after both Israel and the Islamist Hamas group said they would end hostilities after three weeks of bloody fighting.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey met Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian president, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to push for a durable end to the war. They called for an opening of the strip’s border crossings, offered to help in the rebuilding of Gaza, and promised to aid Egyptian efforts to put an end to weapons smuggling into the strip – an Israeli demand.
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said European leaders would tell Israel “that we are at its side to assure its right to security but [it] must indicate clearly that if the rocket firing stops, the Israeli army will leave Gaza”.
Hamas on Sunday followed Israel in declaring a ceasefire, offering the best chance yet to end a conflict that has claimed the lives of at least 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. However, the Islamist group, along with other militant Palestinian factions in Gaza, said Israeli troops had to leave the territory within a week.
Gaza-based groups had fired at least 20 rockets on nearby Israeli towns in the hours leading up to the Hamas announcement, but the ceasefire appeared to hold in the afternoon and evening.
The move came in response to Israel’s declaration of a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday night. Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, said the country’s offensive had achieved all its goals. He added that Israeli troops would remain in the Gaza Strip for the time being, but would withdraw if Hamas held fire as well.
A spokesman for Mr Olmert declined to comment on Hamas’s one-week ultimatum, saying the government was not in negotiations with the group. However, he added that Israel had “no intention” of staying in the Gaza Strip for long, and that a withdrawal could take place quickly.
The Sharm el-Sheikh conference also provided an opportunity to try to shore up the credibility of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority. The PA, which was ousted from Gaza by Hamas in 2007, has been largely sidelined during the conflict, and Mr Abbas has faced criticism from Palestinians for not responding decisively to the crisis. He took part in the gathering and addressed the press alongside the European leaders.
The presence of international leaders offered support for Mr Mubarak, who has faced intense pressure from Arab countries such as Syria and Qatar for Egypt’s close ties with Israel and his refusal to open the country’s border with Gaza to help the beleaguered population.
EU hopes to become bigger player in the Middle East
By Judy Dempsey and Stephen Castle
Monday, January 19, 2009
BERLIN: By traveling to Egypt and Israel on Sunday to lend their support to the cease-fires announced by Hamas and Israel, the leaders of Britain, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy and Spain showed how much they want the European Union to be a player in the region.
But throughout the three weeks of Israeli shelling, airstrikes and ground incursions, in which nearly 1,300 Palestinians were killed - most of them civilians - the Europeans played a limited role, even as the Bush administration was packing its bags, and thus less present than usual.
If the cease-fire holds, the European Union will - as usual - supply humanitarian aid and probably expand its monitoring mission. Individual European nations may help patrol coastlines to ensure that weapons are not smuggled to Gaza by sea.
But there is no question of an EU military peacekeeping mission and, because it has no formal contacts with Hamas, Europe will find it hard to help reconstruction work in Gaza unless there are political changes there.
France has prided itself in recent weeks on the role played by President Nicolas Sarkozy. The newspaper Le Figaro on Monday hailed in a front page headline: "The European Push for Peace in Gaza."
Indeed, of the several European leaders who have flown to the region, Sarkozy, who co-sponsored the summit meeting Sunday in Egypt, has had the most impact, said Volker Perthes, a Middle East expert and director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. But even the impact of the dynamic leader of France, which has long had interests and influence in the Mideast, is limited.
None of the European ministers broke ranks with Israel and the United States by proposing to open contacts with Hamas. None of them demanded that Israel allow them to enter Gaza. None visited the border area with Gaza which Israel has sealed off.
And none commented on the details of an agreement signed Friday in Washington by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni. The accord focused on the United States providing security assistance to prevent Iran from sending weapons through tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It did not mention opening borders between Gaza and Israel to allow the resumption of trade.
The Europeans have never believed they could supplant U.S. diplomatic power in the Middle East. Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, has spent years trying to convince Israel - suspicious that the Europeans are pro-Palestinian - that the EU can play a role, even a limited one.
The Arab press, meanwhile, has punctured Europeans' visions of themselves as honest brokers in the Middle East by criticizing them for being ineffective in getting Israel to stop the bombing, getting aid into Gaza or even insisting that reporters be allowed in. In the Arab world, Europe's reputation has deteriorated.
Europeans have been hampered by their lack of unity on the conflict. And, as Perthes argued in an interview Monday, the regional players are becoming increasingly important.
Egypt has traditionally been the strongest and most influential country in the Arab world even though its influence has waned over the past few years. "Despite that, Egypt is still very important because they talk to Hamas," Perthes said. That explains why European leaders and foreign ministers make it their business to talk to President Hosni Mubarak and try to see Omar Suleiman, the intelligence chief who is responsible for negotiating with Hamas.
Qatar, meanwhile, brokered an agreement between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government last year. A small Arab Muslim country endowed with vast reserves of natural gas, Qatar is now trying to mediate an end to the fighting in Darfur.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has also opened up channels between Israel and Syria over the future of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured during the 1967 war.
Turkey wants to engage Hamas to achieve a long-term peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, so the EU sees Ankara as an important line of communication with Hamas leaders.
Speaking in Brussels on Monday, Solana defended the European role in the crisis. "I think the EU has been engaging from the very beginning in trying to find a solution," he said. "In the end, the cease-fire was in cooperation with Egypt, which is a country that had a very important role to play and we supported them."
The EU, Solana added "will be willing to help in any manner necessary: humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, but also on the ground."
But that is far from easy for Europeans who have reduced infrastructure aid in the region after much of their previous efforts was turned to rubble in past Israeli assaults.
The EU spent €550 million, or $720 million, to support the Palestinians in 2007, the last full year for which figures are available, but it has refused to deal with the Hamas government in Gaza. It spent nothing on infrastructure for the Palestinian Authority in 2003, 2004 and 2006, and only €40.5 million in 2005.
European diplomats said Monday that they expected a donors' conference would take up the challenge of rebuilding the Gaza Strip after the massive destruction wrought by the Israelis. But EU officials say that, while offering aid, it will be difficult to start reconstruction without a government to talk to.
In the short term, the Europeans say there is no question of recognizing Hamas until it makes significant concessions. Instead, EU officials want Turkey to help persuade Hamas to make changes that could allow for its recognition by the West. They also hope that elections this year will see an end to the infighting between Hamas and Fatah and perhaps pave the way to a government of national unity.
But underlining their status as a junior partner in the region, the Europeans are also waiting for one crucial factor in the Middle East: the engagement of the new U.S. administration.
Monday, January 19, 2009
BERLIN: By traveling to Egypt and Israel on Sunday to lend their support to the cease-fires announced by Hamas and Israel, the leaders of Britain, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy and Spain showed how much they want the European Union to be a player in the region.
But throughout the three weeks of Israeli shelling, airstrikes and ground incursions, in which nearly 1,300 Palestinians were killed - most of them civilians - the Europeans played a limited role, even as the Bush administration was packing its bags, and thus less present than usual.
If the cease-fire holds, the European Union will - as usual - supply humanitarian aid and probably expand its monitoring mission. Individual European nations may help patrol coastlines to ensure that weapons are not smuggled to Gaza by sea.
But there is no question of an EU military peacekeeping mission and, because it has no formal contacts with Hamas, Europe will find it hard to help reconstruction work in Gaza unless there are political changes there.
France has prided itself in recent weeks on the role played by President Nicolas Sarkozy. The newspaper Le Figaro on Monday hailed in a front page headline: "The European Push for Peace in Gaza."
Indeed, of the several European leaders who have flown to the region, Sarkozy, who co-sponsored the summit meeting Sunday in Egypt, has had the most impact, said Volker Perthes, a Middle East expert and director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. But even the impact of the dynamic leader of France, which has long had interests and influence in the Mideast, is limited.
None of the European ministers broke ranks with Israel and the United States by proposing to open contacts with Hamas. None of them demanded that Israel allow them to enter Gaza. None visited the border area with Gaza which Israel has sealed off.
And none commented on the details of an agreement signed Friday in Washington by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni. The accord focused on the United States providing security assistance to prevent Iran from sending weapons through tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It did not mention opening borders between Gaza and Israel to allow the resumption of trade.
The Europeans have never believed they could supplant U.S. diplomatic power in the Middle East. Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, has spent years trying to convince Israel - suspicious that the Europeans are pro-Palestinian - that the EU can play a role, even a limited one.
The Arab press, meanwhile, has punctured Europeans' visions of themselves as honest brokers in the Middle East by criticizing them for being ineffective in getting Israel to stop the bombing, getting aid into Gaza or even insisting that reporters be allowed in. In the Arab world, Europe's reputation has deteriorated.
Europeans have been hampered by their lack of unity on the conflict. And, as Perthes argued in an interview Monday, the regional players are becoming increasingly important.
Egypt has traditionally been the strongest and most influential country in the Arab world even though its influence has waned over the past few years. "Despite that, Egypt is still very important because they talk to Hamas," Perthes said. That explains why European leaders and foreign ministers make it their business to talk to President Hosni Mubarak and try to see Omar Suleiman, the intelligence chief who is responsible for negotiating with Hamas.
Qatar, meanwhile, brokered an agreement between Hezbollah and the Lebanese government last year. A small Arab Muslim country endowed with vast reserves of natural gas, Qatar is now trying to mediate an end to the fighting in Darfur.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has also opened up channels between Israel and Syria over the future of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured during the 1967 war.
Turkey wants to engage Hamas to achieve a long-term peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, so the EU sees Ankara as an important line of communication with Hamas leaders.
Speaking in Brussels on Monday, Solana defended the European role in the crisis. "I think the EU has been engaging from the very beginning in trying to find a solution," he said. "In the end, the cease-fire was in cooperation with Egypt, which is a country that had a very important role to play and we supported them."
The EU, Solana added "will be willing to help in any manner necessary: humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, but also on the ground."
But that is far from easy for Europeans who have reduced infrastructure aid in the region after much of their previous efforts was turned to rubble in past Israeli assaults.
The EU spent €550 million, or $720 million, to support the Palestinians in 2007, the last full year for which figures are available, but it has refused to deal with the Hamas government in Gaza. It spent nothing on infrastructure for the Palestinian Authority in 2003, 2004 and 2006, and only €40.5 million in 2005.
European diplomats said Monday that they expected a donors' conference would take up the challenge of rebuilding the Gaza Strip after the massive destruction wrought by the Israelis. But EU officials say that, while offering aid, it will be difficult to start reconstruction without a government to talk to.
In the short term, the Europeans say there is no question of recognizing Hamas until it makes significant concessions. Instead, EU officials want Turkey to help persuade Hamas to make changes that could allow for its recognition by the West. They also hope that elections this year will see an end to the infighting between Hamas and Fatah and perhaps pave the way to a government of national unity.
But underlining their status as a junior partner in the region, the Europeans are also waiting for one crucial factor in the Middle East: the engagement of the new U.S. administration.
Russia and Ukraine formally seal gas deal, and Putin orders valves opened
By Andrew E. Kramer
The Associated Press
Monday, January 19, 2009
MOSCOW: Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement resolving their dispute over the price of natural gas and the terms of its transit across Ukraine to Europe, and said they would resume shipments of fuel to freezing homes and idled factories in Europe as early as Monday evening.
After previous agreements collapsed, officials in Europe had been cautious about the deal, which was negotiated between the prime ministers of the two countries, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Yulia Tymoshenko of Ukraine, over the weekend and formalized Monday at a signing in Moscow.
While the long standoff ended with only a modest price increase for Ukraine, which will benefit Russia, the authorities said one silver lining from the dispute for European consumers was a new set of contracts with a far longer, 10-year time frame, decreasing the likelihood of another embargo next year.
In another hopeful sign, Putin personally ordered the resumption of gas shipments after the signing.
"I hope transit supplies in the European direction will be fully resumed in the nearest future," Putin said.
Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, had been ordered to restore shipments to both the Ukrainian internal market and for re-export to Europe, he said.
Once gas shipments from Russia are restored to the Ukrainian border, re-pressuring the pipelines for export to Europe will require about 36 hours, Ukrainian officials have said.
Tensions remain between Russia and Ukraine. On Monday, the Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev, signed an order imposing sanctions on countries that have sold weaponry to the former Soviet state of Georgia, which Russia fought in a short war last August.
The sanctions would halt military and technical cooperation with such countries. Ukraine has sold weaponry to Georgia and could be harmed by the measure, because its military industry is closely entwined with that of Russia as a legacy of the Soviet Union.
But in a sign of some melting away of disagreement over the gas business, the two prime ministers offered each other gracious compliments after the signing, a rarity in the relations between Russia and Ukraine.
"I would like to thank the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Vladimirovna Tymoshenko," Putin said. "Faced with one of the hardest situations, she took responsibility for making these important decisions."
Tymoshenko, who flew to Moscow again Monday for the signing after negotiating with Putin for five hours Saturday and early Sunday, returned the compliment. "I am very much obliged to Vladimir Vladimirovich and his team for finding the opportunity to grant special terms for Ukraine," she said.
Under the terms of the agreement, the price of Russian natural gas in Ukraine will be pegged to the price of competing fuels such as diesel or bunker oil on international exchanges, as is the practice in Europe, but with a 20 percent discount in 2009. The discount will be eliminated next year.
According to Gazprom's own projections of European gas prices in 2009, Ukraine would be expected to pay an average of between $208 and $240 for 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas, depending on the price of oil.
Ukraine, meanwhile, accepted a transit fee that is about half the average rate in Europe, but with the understanding that it will be raised next year.
As it played out over three cold weeks this January, the shut-off eventually left hundreds of thousands of homes without heat in southeastern Europe and shuttered at least hundreds of factories. Slovakia, in response, had proposed restarting a obsolete nuclear reactor to make up for the gas shortfalls.
Russia halted shipments of gas to Ukraine on New Year's Day, and then, accusing Ukraine of siphoning gas from the export pipelines, halted shipments to countries farther west on Jan. 7.
The Russian authorities also said the Ukrainian national energy company, Naftogaz, was refusing requests to transship fuel; Naftogaz said it was impossible to deliver small shipments because the pipelines were being used to meet internal demand.
The Associated Press
Monday, January 19, 2009
MOSCOW: Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement resolving their dispute over the price of natural gas and the terms of its transit across Ukraine to Europe, and said they would resume shipments of fuel to freezing homes and idled factories in Europe as early as Monday evening.
After previous agreements collapsed, officials in Europe had been cautious about the deal, which was negotiated between the prime ministers of the two countries, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Yulia Tymoshenko of Ukraine, over the weekend and formalized Monday at a signing in Moscow.
While the long standoff ended with only a modest price increase for Ukraine, which will benefit Russia, the authorities said one silver lining from the dispute for European consumers was a new set of contracts with a far longer, 10-year time frame, decreasing the likelihood of another embargo next year.
In another hopeful sign, Putin personally ordered the resumption of gas shipments after the signing.
"I hope transit supplies in the European direction will be fully resumed in the nearest future," Putin said.
Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, had been ordered to restore shipments to both the Ukrainian internal market and for re-export to Europe, he said.
Once gas shipments from Russia are restored to the Ukrainian border, re-pressuring the pipelines for export to Europe will require about 36 hours, Ukrainian officials have said.
Tensions remain between Russia and Ukraine. On Monday, the Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev, signed an order imposing sanctions on countries that have sold weaponry to the former Soviet state of Georgia, which Russia fought in a short war last August.
The sanctions would halt military and technical cooperation with such countries. Ukraine has sold weaponry to Georgia and could be harmed by the measure, because its military industry is closely entwined with that of Russia as a legacy of the Soviet Union.
But in a sign of some melting away of disagreement over the gas business, the two prime ministers offered each other gracious compliments after the signing, a rarity in the relations between Russia and Ukraine.
"I would like to thank the Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Vladimirovna Tymoshenko," Putin said. "Faced with one of the hardest situations, she took responsibility for making these important decisions."
Tymoshenko, who flew to Moscow again Monday for the signing after negotiating with Putin for five hours Saturday and early Sunday, returned the compliment. "I am very much obliged to Vladimir Vladimirovich and his team for finding the opportunity to grant special terms for Ukraine," she said.
Under the terms of the agreement, the price of Russian natural gas in Ukraine will be pegged to the price of competing fuels such as diesel or bunker oil on international exchanges, as is the practice in Europe, but with a 20 percent discount in 2009. The discount will be eliminated next year.
According to Gazprom's own projections of European gas prices in 2009, Ukraine would be expected to pay an average of between $208 and $240 for 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas, depending on the price of oil.
Ukraine, meanwhile, accepted a transit fee that is about half the average rate in Europe, but with the understanding that it will be raised next year.
As it played out over three cold weeks this January, the shut-off eventually left hundreds of thousands of homes without heat in southeastern Europe and shuttered at least hundreds of factories. Slovakia, in response, had proposed restarting a obsolete nuclear reactor to make up for the gas shortfalls.
Russia halted shipments of gas to Ukraine on New Year's Day, and then, accusing Ukraine of siphoning gas from the export pipelines, halted shipments to countries farther west on Jan. 7.
The Russian authorities also said the Ukrainian national energy company, Naftogaz, was refusing requests to transship fuel; Naftogaz said it was impossible to deliver small shipments because the pipelines were being used to meet internal demand.
Energy pushes Turkey and EU closer
The Associated Press
Monday, January 19, 2009
BRUSSELS: The European Union has to speed up membership talks with Turkey because it badly needs the nation as a reliable energy partner, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said Monday.
Barroso said he would push to get talks moving again on Turkey's EU membership bid as the bloc searches for alternative energy routes after an energy dispute between Ukraine and Russia left many EU nations short of natural gas.
One option is the Nabucco pipeline, which is being planned to bypass the feuding nations and carry Caspian natural gas through Turkey to Europe.
"Turkey can in fact be something that is in the interest of all European citizens," Barroso said after meeting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who is visiting the EU for the first time in more than four years. "Good cooperation on energy matters."
Erdogan said his country was ready to play a key role to help EU energy security. "Turkey is not coming to the EU to become a burden; we are coming to relieve some burdens off the shoulders of the European Union," he said.
Erdogan said his country was acutely aware of its importance to the EU as a new energy partner because of the gas dispute. "We are aware of our responsibility," Erdogan said. "We don't want to use it as a weapon."
The prime minister sought Barroso's help in unblocking membership talks that France, Austria and other EU nations have successfully stalled amid widespread public opposition to Turkey's membership bid.
The EU has suspended membership negotiations in 8 of 35 different policy areas, over Turkey's refusal to recognize Cyprus, an EU member, and to open its ports to the small island nation. Only 10, less important, files have been opened for negotiation.
Diplomats say Cyprus has been blocking the opening of talks in the energy area because of a dispute with Turkey over gas exploration at sea. Energy is one of the 35 areas, or so-called chapters, in Turkey's accession talks.
Barroso told said that an issue as important as energy security should not be made conditional upon such a specific issue.
Erdogan said his government would "step up" its reform drive to meet EU standards on political and human rights.
EU officials praised Turkey's recent moves to set up a Kurdish-language television station and a special ministry dealing with EU entry talks, but pressed Erdogan to do more to guarantee minority rights, curb powers of the military and pass new rights for trade unions.
Monday, January 19, 2009
BRUSSELS: The European Union has to speed up membership talks with Turkey because it badly needs the nation as a reliable energy partner, José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, said Monday.
Barroso said he would push to get talks moving again on Turkey's EU membership bid as the bloc searches for alternative energy routes after an energy dispute between Ukraine and Russia left many EU nations short of natural gas.
One option is the Nabucco pipeline, which is being planned to bypass the feuding nations and carry Caspian natural gas through Turkey to Europe.
"Turkey can in fact be something that is in the interest of all European citizens," Barroso said after meeting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who is visiting the EU for the first time in more than four years. "Good cooperation on energy matters."
Erdogan said his country was ready to play a key role to help EU energy security. "Turkey is not coming to the EU to become a burden; we are coming to relieve some burdens off the shoulders of the European Union," he said.
Erdogan said his country was acutely aware of its importance to the EU as a new energy partner because of the gas dispute. "We are aware of our responsibility," Erdogan said. "We don't want to use it as a weapon."
The prime minister sought Barroso's help in unblocking membership talks that France, Austria and other EU nations have successfully stalled amid widespread public opposition to Turkey's membership bid.
The EU has suspended membership negotiations in 8 of 35 different policy areas, over Turkey's refusal to recognize Cyprus, an EU member, and to open its ports to the small island nation. Only 10, less important, files have been opened for negotiation.
Diplomats say Cyprus has been blocking the opening of talks in the energy area because of a dispute with Turkey over gas exploration at sea. Energy is one of the 35 areas, or so-called chapters, in Turkey's accession talks.
Barroso told said that an issue as important as energy security should not be made conditional upon such a specific issue.
Erdogan said his government would "step up" its reform drive to meet EU standards on political and human rights.
EU officials praised Turkey's recent moves to set up a Kurdish-language television station and a special ministry dealing with EU entry talks, but pressed Erdogan to do more to guarantee minority rights, curb powers of the military and pass new rights for trade unions.
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