Posted on 03/28/2002 9:40:05 AM PST by Spar
Turkey and Greece strike pipeline deal to bring Iranian gas to Europe
Thu Mar 28,11:53 AM ET
Greek Minister of Development Akis Tsohatzopoulos looks through Turkish and Greek flags while attending a joint news conference with Turkish energy Minister Zeki Cakan in Ankara, March 28, 2002. Turkish and Greek ministers held talks on both countries' state companies to work together on constructing a pipeline to carry natural gas from the Caspian Sea to Greece via Turkey. REUTERS/str
By JAMES C. HELICKE, Associated Press Writer
ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey and Greece on Thursday signed a dlrs 300 million deal to extend an Iranian natural gas pipeline from Turkey into Greece — an agreement that could eventually take Iranian gas to other European countries.
Greek Development Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos and Turkish Energy Minister Zeki Cakan watched as energy officials signed the deal to extend the pipeline from the town of Karacabey in western Turkey to the city of Komotini in northeastern Greece.
"The first concrete steps have been taken toward cooperation in the field of energy between Turkey and Greece," Cakan said of the two traditional rivals who have recently improved ties.
Said Tsochadzopoulos: "What we signed is also important for regional stability, peace and cooperation."
Greece sees the Iranian gas as a way of satisfying increasing domestic demand and hopes to benefit by becoming a gateway to European markets for Iran, which has the world's second largest gas reserves. Greece has already set aside European Union (news - web sites) funds in hopes of extending the network to Italy.
The pipeline will travel 200 kilometers (125 miles) inside Turkey and cross the Dardanelles Straits into Thrace. The Greek side will be a total of 85 kilometers (50 miles) long.
The pipeline, which is expected to be completed by 2005, will initially carry 500 million cubic meters (17.5 billion cubic feet) of gas.
"The amount of gas will be increased gradually," Cakan said.
The United States, an ally of both countries, has in the past expressed concern over the deal. U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) earlier this year called Iran part of an "axis of evil," along with Iraq and North Korea (news - web sites).
Turkey, however, sees Iran as a way of avoiding excessive dependence on Russia, which currently supplies more than half of Turkey's natural gas.
Turkey, which received its first delivery of Iranian natural gas in December, is initially purchasing 3 billion cubic meters (106 billion cubic feet) of gas a year from Iran. It is expected to triple that amount by 2007.
Greece foresees that it will need 6 billion cubic meters (211 billion cubic feet) of natural gas by 2010.
Thursday's agreement is also another sign of warming relations between regional rivals Turkey and Greece. Earlier this month, the countries started talks to resolve a decades-old dispute over the Aegean Sea that has brought the two countries to the brink of war three times since 1974.
Greece and Iran recently signed a memorandum promising to explore ways to extend the pipeline.
jh-sf-cph
Jade for your files.
Shermy mo gas news for the Gas King of FR!
Jewish-Turkish Tycoon Stabbed to Death
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - The chairman of one of Turkey's largest business holdings and a prominent member of its Jewish community was found stabbed to death Saturday, police said.
Garih headed the ALARKO group, a heating, ventilating and air conditioning company that also does construction in Turkey and central Asia.
Garih had left his office around noon Saturday after meeting with Bulgaria's Deputy Premier Nikolay Vassilev, said Seyit Mehmet Buruk, a spokesman for ALARKO.
``His assassination stunned us,'' the Anatolia news agency quoted Vassilev as saying at a news conference. ``We had our picture taken together. But I could not imagine that (his life) would have been over a few hours later.'' Cash and credit cards were found in his wallet, an unconfirmed news report said.
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I also found it curious that the Turkish authorities tried to blame the killing on a patsy Turk police release boy suspected of tycoon murder
Turkish police have released a 13-year-old boy from detention after arresting him on suspicion of killing leading Turkish-born Jewish businessman Uzeyir Garih, state-run Anatolian news agency said on Monday. Garih, an outspoken liberal, was found stabbed to death on August 25 in an Istanbul graveyard.
The agency quoted the teenager as saying that police forced him to confess to the murder by making him take off his shirt and trousers and putting him into a cold room. "They [police] brought me to an air-conditioned freezing place.... They told me that I should tell the truth that I had done it or otherwise they would cut off my head.
"I swore to them I had not done it," he said.
The boy said Garih had given him and a friend 200,000 Turkish lira ($0.14) outside the cemetery and they had not seen him again. Anatolian said a police search of the graveyard on Sunday turned up a sack with the word "Allah" (God) spelled out in blood.
Garih was the co-chairman of Alarko Holding, a major construction group active in Turkey, Russia and Central Asia.
Reuters
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Later on Turkish authorities arrested another suspect The suspect is a Turkish soldier who fled from his unit. Garih's blood was found on the suspect's shirt, left behind on his military base. It was not readily apparent to police whether the murder was nationalistically or criminally motivated.
But during the trial of murder suspect Yener Yermez, suspicion that Yermez may have been also been a patsy for the crime came up:
NO EVIDENCES COULD BE FOUND ON THE KNIFE
ANADOLU AGENCY NEWS 07 SEPTEMBER 2001 Friday
Neither the blood of businessman Uzeyir Garih, nor the finger prints of suspect Yener Yermez could be found on the knife which Yermez said he used to kill Garih. Experts said, ''the finger prints can be erased, but the blood prints had to be on the knife.''
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Intriguing isn't it?
In about 45 minutes, we can take out the Islamic Fanatic Mullahs of Iran who started this current round of Islamic terrorism going back to the seizure of our embassy under their buddy Carter's reign.
Most of the Iranians, would welcome sending these Islamic Fanatics to hell.
Their supply of natural gas reserves would insure zero poverity in Iran for at least a century if the Islamic Fanatics are offed whenever they pop back up again.
Indian scientists devise way to prevent flatulence
LONDON -- Indian scientists have come up with a cure for flatulence, by blasting guilty foodstuffs such as beans with gamma rays to knock out the offending chemicals that cause the problem, New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.
Bacteria in the large intestine are responsible for the gases that cause flatulence, and when these bugs eat certain types of carbohydrates called oligosaccharides they produce a mixture of methane and smelly sulphurous gases, which cause the social embarrassment.
The finger of blame is most commonly pointed at beans and vegetables, 60 percent of whose carbohydrates are made up of oligosaccharides.
So Jammala Machaiah and Mrinal Pednekar in the food-science laboratory at India's Bhabha Atomic Research Center in Trombay decided to see whether small doses of radiation affected these carbohydrates in various beans common in Indian cuisine.
The scientists, whose research will appear in the journal Food Chemistry, found that the irradiation dramatically accelerated a reduction in oligosaccharides that occurs naturally in the soaking process.
LOL~!
That would mean the end of one of the vilest cartels in the history of man, OPEC.
The more I see articles like this one re the killing of this man, the more I tend to believe that OBL and al Qeada are nothing but terrorist tools of the Opecker Princes and royal families to control and limit oil and gas production and harvesting. There is no shortage of these fuels, that is why they have Opec, a vile cartel with terrorist connections to enforce the Cartel. We end Opec and the Islamic Terrorists will lose their finances and will die of a whimpering death in the deserts.
Spar, Thanks for both of these great finds and put me on your ping find list of articles like these.
If all of the Indians follow this protocol, Global Warming will be a thing of the past.
Just trying to brighten up the morning, overcast on the beach today so far!
First, I think the news from India is awful. How on earth does it help the earth if we eliminate a potential source of power? Can't we harness it? Don't we have the technology? Can't we discover the tech? Such a shame, another natural and sustainable resource suppressed by science. Who's "funding" these scientists!
Of course, just remember all of those gas emitting termites in the Amazon region that the enviralist nuts went whacko about a few years ago. Those bugs were raising the earth's temp hundreds, er a few degrees each year. Last but least remember all of our dairy cattle and beef cattle as sources of natural gas!
So develop the technology and the gas makers will come!
Iran building three new LNG plants (3/23)
I believe there is a Turkmenistan to Turkey gas line too. But it runs through northern Iran - a competitor. Shipping the gas through Russia is also problematic for central asian states - Russia is a competitor - both for oil and gas. Turkey and Georgia are not, so they are safe avenues. I believe there will be oil and gas pipelines from the east Caspian region to the west via Caspian sea bed, through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. This will mostly solve the competitor choke hold problem.
I've said before, Turkey is gearing up to be a major focal point not only of gas and oil use, but transshipment to elsewhere. Via land line, after Turkey lines would necessarily travel thru Greece or Bulgaria. It appears that the Iranians are intending to lock in the Italian market, to the detriment of Russia and the Central Asian states. Greece probably will dedicate itself to Iran, as opposed to the other states, for geopolical and emotional issues - Turkey is an "enemy" of Iran, and as an example to its theocracy. The central asians and Russians (and you guys in our govt.) better be hauling your rears pretty fast if you believe and want "diversity" of supplies. Iran is making a play for domination, and completely understands the moves in the region re: gas AND oil.
A prominent variable is whether Iran (and Saudi Arabia) will increase terrorism in the Caucasus as part of its market strategy, as they did in the past with their jihadis and barely controllable Al Qaeda semi-proxies. Iran, indeed, may recognize that strategy won't work anymore, so they have moved to increase sales and market share, and away from sabotaging competitors. The Bush Admin. seems to understand what the Caucasus strife was about, and why it was being funded by Saudi Arabia, American "charities", and fostered by Iran.
Like I said, I hope our guys are moving on this.
P.S. to a_Turk: I think the picture above should be captioned "Ha! But Greece is on a EU coin - and Turkey is not!" (inside joke)
Now that is very interesting!
Al Qaeda is an instrument of the Saudi's?
I think they are more of an instrument of Saddam and Iraq.
But I could be persuaded
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