Prometheus
July 4th, 2005, 01:18 AM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4645687.stm
Greek leader to make Turkey visit
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has accepted an invitation to visit Turkey, underlining closer ties.
It will be the first official visit by a serving Greek head of government for more than 40 years.
It was confirmed as Mr Karamanlis and Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan met at the common border to launch the construction of a joint gas pipeline.
The project is designed to transport Caspian and Central Asian natural gas to Europe and be operational next year.
The pipeline will stretch for 300km (186 miles) between the two countries, most of it on Turkish soil.
The project is estimated to cost less than $18m.
Both leaders stressed its historic significance.
It is symbolic of what both countries see as an end to years of deep mutual distrust, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Istanbul.
Former foes
Less than 10 years ago, the two countries came close to war.
Each nation was born under the occupation of the other. Forced population exchanges between the two left a legacy of bitterness, our correspondent says.
There are still disputes over air space and territorial waters.
Many in Greece would also like to see the Orthodox Church, which is based in Istanbul, freed from some of the restrictions of the Turkish state.
But last year, Mr Erdogan paid an official visit to Athens for the first time in 16 years.
The last Greek prime minister to visit Turkey in an official capacity was Constantinos Karamanlis, the uncle of the present premier, in 1959, reports the AFP news agency.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/July/theworld_July73.xml§ion=theworld
Turkish, Greek PM inaugurate construction of key gas pipeline
(AP)
3 July 2005
IPSALA BORDER CROSSING, Turkey - The Turkish and Greek prime ministers met on Sunday on a bridge across the river that divides their countries to launch a joint construction project to connect rich natural gas fields in the Caspian and Central Asia to energy-hungry markets in Europe.
The project is also a sign that relations between the two bitter historical rivals is warming.
The 300-kilometer (186-mile) pipeline from Bursa in Turkey to Komotini in Greece is expected to be operational in 2006, and will later be extended to Italy as part of an extensive pipeline initiative known as the Southern Europe Gas Ring Project.
The Greek-Turkish pipeline is expected to carry 11.5 billion cubic meters (405 billion cubic feet) of gas per year once connections are made to other planned pipelines, and as demand for Caspian gas - an alternative energy source to the politically volatile Middle East - expands in coming years.
The pipeline should also help diversify resources at a time when oil and gas prices are soaring.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis of Greece met at the middle of a bridge over the Meric River - which is called the Evros River in Greece and serves as a border between the two countries - to formally launch construction for the pipeline.
A Greek boy and a Turkish boy exchanged flags.
“This pipeline is connecting two countries and two people together,” Caramanlis said. “But most important of all, it is the first and key link in the Southern Europe Gas Ring Project.”
The pipeline “is important not just the two countries but for also the countries beyond both ends of the pipeline,” said Leo Drollas, chief economist at the Center for Global Energy Studies in London.
Turkey in recent years have been trying to expand its role as an energy conduit, connecting Europe to the oil and gas riches of the Caspian and Central Asia.
In May, the presidents of Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan opened a pipeline that will transport up to 1 million barrels a day of Caspian oil and gas through the southern Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The Baku-Ceyhan pipeline as well as the pipeline inaugurated Sunday help broaden supplies and are also significant because they bring Caspian oil and gas to the West without going through Russia, which has been an aim of the United States.
“Turkey is a bridge between Europe and rich (oil and gas) resources in the Caspian region and the southern Mediterranean, when the diversification of oil and gas resources in the European energy market is in question,” Erdogan said.
Both leaders referred to improving relations between their countries.
“This (project) will help strengthen our friendship and put an end to speculation” about Greek-Turkish ties, Erdogan said.
Caramanlis said, “This is a very important development which shows both countries can cooperate like never before.”
NATO allies, Greece and Turkey have been at odds over the war-divided island of Cyprus, as well as over airspace and sea boundaries in the Aegean.
Greek and Turkish diplomats have held regular meetings in an effort to resolve their disputes, and Greece, a member of the European Union since 1981, has become one of the most vocal supporters of Turkey’s own contentious EU bid, believing that relations between the two neighbors can only improve as Turkey becomes more attuned to European norms.
Greek leader to make Turkey visit
Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has accepted an invitation to visit Turkey, underlining closer ties.
It will be the first official visit by a serving Greek head of government for more than 40 years.
It was confirmed as Mr Karamanlis and Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan met at the common border to launch the construction of a joint gas pipeline.
The project is designed to transport Caspian and Central Asian natural gas to Europe and be operational next year.
The pipeline will stretch for 300km (186 miles) between the two countries, most of it on Turkish soil.
The project is estimated to cost less than $18m.
Both leaders stressed its historic significance.
It is symbolic of what both countries see as an end to years of deep mutual distrust, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Istanbul.
Former foes
Less than 10 years ago, the two countries came close to war.
Each nation was born under the occupation of the other. Forced population exchanges between the two left a legacy of bitterness, our correspondent says.
There are still disputes over air space and territorial waters.
Many in Greece would also like to see the Orthodox Church, which is based in Istanbul, freed from some of the restrictions of the Turkish state.
But last year, Mr Erdogan paid an official visit to Athens for the first time in 16 years.
The last Greek prime minister to visit Turkey in an official capacity was Constantinos Karamanlis, the uncle of the present premier, in 1959, reports the AFP news agency.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2005/July/theworld_July73.xml§ion=theworld
Turkish, Greek PM inaugurate construction of key gas pipeline
(AP)
3 July 2005
IPSALA BORDER CROSSING, Turkey - The Turkish and Greek prime ministers met on Sunday on a bridge across the river that divides their countries to launch a joint construction project to connect rich natural gas fields in the Caspian and Central Asia to energy-hungry markets in Europe.
The project is also a sign that relations between the two bitter historical rivals is warming.
The 300-kilometer (186-mile) pipeline from Bursa in Turkey to Komotini in Greece is expected to be operational in 2006, and will later be extended to Italy as part of an extensive pipeline initiative known as the Southern Europe Gas Ring Project.
The Greek-Turkish pipeline is expected to carry 11.5 billion cubic meters (405 billion cubic feet) of gas per year once connections are made to other planned pipelines, and as demand for Caspian gas - an alternative energy source to the politically volatile Middle East - expands in coming years.
The pipeline should also help diversify resources at a time when oil and gas prices are soaring.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis of Greece met at the middle of a bridge over the Meric River - which is called the Evros River in Greece and serves as a border between the two countries - to formally launch construction for the pipeline.
A Greek boy and a Turkish boy exchanged flags.
“This pipeline is connecting two countries and two people together,” Caramanlis said. “But most important of all, it is the first and key link in the Southern Europe Gas Ring Project.”
The pipeline “is important not just the two countries but for also the countries beyond both ends of the pipeline,” said Leo Drollas, chief economist at the Center for Global Energy Studies in London.
Turkey in recent years have been trying to expand its role as an energy conduit, connecting Europe to the oil and gas riches of the Caspian and Central Asia.
In May, the presidents of Georgia, Turkey and Azerbaijan opened a pipeline that will transport up to 1 million barrels a day of Caspian oil and gas through the southern Turkish port of Ceyhan.
The Baku-Ceyhan pipeline as well as the pipeline inaugurated Sunday help broaden supplies and are also significant because they bring Caspian oil and gas to the West without going through Russia, which has been an aim of the United States.
“Turkey is a bridge between Europe and rich (oil and gas) resources in the Caspian region and the southern Mediterranean, when the diversification of oil and gas resources in the European energy market is in question,” Erdogan said.
Both leaders referred to improving relations between their countries.
“This (project) will help strengthen our friendship and put an end to speculation” about Greek-Turkish ties, Erdogan said.
Caramanlis said, “This is a very important development which shows both countries can cooperate like never before.”
NATO allies, Greece and Turkey have been at odds over the war-divided island of Cyprus, as well as over airspace and sea boundaries in the Aegean.
Greek and Turkish diplomats have held regular meetings in an effort to resolve their disputes, and Greece, a member of the European Union since 1981, has become one of the most vocal supporters of Turkey’s own contentious EU bid, believing that relations between the two neighbors can only improve as Turkey becomes more attuned to European norms.