USIA - U.S. Officials Stress Importance of Energy to US-Turkish Ties, 97-02-20
From: The United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at <gopher://gopher.usia.gov>
U.S. OFFICIALS STRESS IMPORTANCE OF ENERGY TO US-TURKISH TIES
(Eizenstat, Curtis, Grossman, Ginsberg at Turkey conference) (790)
By Rick Marshall
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- A group of senior U.S. officials, speaking at the opening
plenary session of a major conference on Turkey here, stressed the
continuing importance of U.S.-Turkish ties and the eagerness of the
American government and private sector to work with the Turks to address
their rapidly growing energy needs.
"Turkey is extremely important to the United States of America," Department
of Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Stuart Eizenstat said,
calling the country "an ally and valued friend" and expressing Washington's
desire to see the relationship continue to grow.
An essential element of that growth will depend on the development of
Turkey's energy sector. Eizenstat noted that Turkey's energy needs are
expected to grow by 200 to 300 percent over the next 10 to 15 years and
that American firms are "the best" in the world at financing and constructing
international energy projects.
U.S. companies thus have "tremendous interest" in helping Turkey meet its
energy needs, Acting Energy Secretary Charles Curtis told the conference,
which is being hosted by the American-Turkish Council/the American Friends
of Turkey, and the Turkish-U.S. Business Council of the Foreign Economic
Relations Board of Turkey.
The United States continues to work with Turkey to help develop their
energy sector. For example, Curtis cited the "solid support" Washington has
given to plans for a pipeline which would carry Caspian Sea oil from Baku
to Turkey's southern port of Ceyhan.
Such a plan would have strong environmental benefits, as it would avoid the
need for additional tanker traffic transiting the crowded Turkish straits,
Curtis noted. At the same time, however, both Curtis and Eizenstat stressed
that Turkey should not look to Iran to address its future energy needs.
Iran and Turkey recently signed an agreement whereby the former would
supply Turkey natural gas, a move Turkish Minister Abdullah Gul indirectly
supported in his remarks today questioning the effectiveness of economic
sanctions.
In a speech yesterday, Gul said that relations with the West should not
preclude Turkey from "improving relations with our partners in the region.
Indeed, we believe in the power of justice and openness in transforming the
closed regimes. Trade and economic ties are vital emissaries in this
regard."
U.S. officials were clear on the subject, however. "We believe that it is
important for Turkey to look to the West, and not to Iran," Eizenstat
said.
For his part Curtis warned that having Iran as a supplier of natural gas
would only result in a sense of "false security" and render Turkey
"vulnerable" to Iranian pressure and supply interruptions. The United
States will continue to oppose anything that might strengthen Teheran in
its efforts to disrupt the Middle East peace process, he stated.
As a substitute for Iranian natural gas, Curtis said that the United States
was ready to help Turkey seek liquefied natural gas from nations such as
Egypt, Algeria, Qatar, Yemen and Indonesia. He further suggested that it
might prove feasible to run a natural gas pipeline from Baku to Ceyhan
parallel to the proposed oil pipeline.
The United States has supported Turkey's economic development in a number
of other ways. For example, Eizenstat and Marc Grossman, the U.S.
ambassador to Ankara, both cited Washington's support for Turkey's economic
integration into Europe. Eizenstat noted that the European Union has so far
failed to give Turkey the economic assistance that was expected as part of
the Customs Union agreement and said, "We want to see all aspects of this
EU commitment fulfilled."
Despite the positive tone to the discussions of U.S.-Turkish cooperation
and the enthusiasm the U.S. officials displayed for the future of the
Turkish economy, both Eizenstat and Curtis pointed out the need for Turkey
to clarify its commercial regulations and speed up the process of decision-
making on foreign investment. Turkey needs to understand that it faces
"lots of competitors" in its search for foreign capital and technology,
Curtis said.
Eizenstat also called for "further improvement" in Turkey's attitude toward
intellectual property rights. Respect for patents and trademarks "is an
absolute prerequisite" for potential U.S. investors, he stated.
As a further expression of the U.S. government and private sector's
commitment to expanding the already active partnership between the two
nations, Assistant Secretary of Commerce William Ginsberg announced the
formal creation of the U.S-Turkey Business Development Council. The purpose
of the council, he said, is for private companies to advise the governments
of both countries of their ongoing projects and identify potential problems
so that the proper policies can be developed to support them.
From the United States Information Agency (USIA) Gopher at gopher://gopher.usia.gov
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