Energy Secretary Bodman Meets with Turkish Prime Minister

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 001029 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS EEB FOR A/S SULLIVAN EUR FOR DAS BRYZA SCA FOR MANN DO FOR HEGBURG USTDA FOR DAN STEIN REF: ANKARA 2720 BAKU 1049 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL AJ ENRG EPET IR IZ KZ RS TU SUBJECT: Energy Secretary Bodman Meets with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On November 18, Energy Secretary Bodman met with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan on the margins of the Turkish Greek Interconnector (TGI) Ceremony. Also present was Turkish Energy Minister Guler, as well as representation from the Turkish MFA. The Secretary and the Prime Minister discussed the TGI ceremony, Caspian SIPDIS energy issues, gas transit, pipelines, nuclear energy, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, the war on terror, Erdogan's November 5th visit to Washington, and PKK terrorism. End Summary. -------------- Background -------------- ¶2. (U) Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman participated in the Turkish Greek Interconnector natural gas pipeline opening ceremony on November 18. The celebration, which took place on the border both in Turkey and Greece, commemorated the completion of the first link of a southern energy route from the Caspian to Western Europe that bypasses Russia. The TGI will initially transport 250 million cubic meters of gas each year from Azerbaijan to Greece. This volume shoul triple by 2012 when the pipeline is expected to rach Italy. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erogan and Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis hook hands on the border to highlight the creatin of a "peace bridge" between their countries. Azrbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, who also spoke a the ceremony, said that he is ready to expand enrgy projects with the European Union. Secretary odman welcomed the TGI as a "critical new energy bidge" SIPDIS connecting east and west. While on the Tukish side of the ceremony site, Secretary Bodmanmet separately with President Aliyev and Prime Miister Erdogan. -------------- Bodman- Erdogan Meeting -------------- 3.(SBU) PM Erdogan thanked Secretary Bodman for comig to Turkey and participating in the Turkish Grek Interconnector (TGI) ceremony. Erdogan noted that Secretary Bodman's participation was extremel timely considering the importance that we all attch to global energy supply. The Secretary congraulated the PM on the TGI ceremony and noted thatit was good for Turkey, the region, and the world. The Secretary also expressed his appreciation fo the work of Energy Minister Guler, who was enhancing energy production and security in Turkey and the region. -------------- Caspian Energy -------------- ¶4. (SBU) PM Erdogan explained that Turkey is prepared to transfer Caspian and Middle Eastern energy resources to Europe and beyond. TGI and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipelines now mean that Europe can directly access Caspian oil and gas, bypassing Russia. According to the PM, Turkey would become the world's fourth largest energy distribution center after Norway, Russia, and Algeria. To realize this, he added, Turkey needs help from the U.S. similar to that the USG provided to make the BTC a reality. Turkey plans to give priority to talks with Azerbaijan on the transit of gas from Azerbaijan to Europe. The Secretary said that he had met Azerbaijan President Aliyev earlier that day and that there is a question concerning whether Turkey wants to simply transfer gas or get paid in other ways, in addition to transit fees. The Secretary noted that we support Turkey as a regional energy transit country. (Note: While we have no opinion on the issue raised by the Azerbaijani President, we hope that Turkey and Azerbaijan can come to an agreement that is fair and commercially viable, because that is important for successful transit of the gas. End note.) ¶5. (SBU) Erdogan expressed hope that USAID would support Azerbaijan by completing a feasibility study (not further identified) that would be important to supply security. He also stated that it would be useful to have joint/regional cooperation in support of Turkmenistan and asked the Secretary's views. Bodman said that there are limits to the quantity of gas that Azerbaijan can provide. In addition, the U.S. is working with the Iraqis in an effort to help ISTANBUL 00001029 002 OF 002 them produce and export more gas. (Note: The Secretary was diplomatically stating that over the long haul, Turkmen and Kazak gas will be available for transport, so the Turks should not act in any way that would discourage such developments, and that it is not that Azerbaijan is resource poor but rather capacity constrained; in that its resources are challenging to develop. End note.) -------------- Bypass Projects -------------- ¶6. (SBU) PM Erdogan raised Turkey's support for a Bosporus bypass pipeline from Samsun to Ceyhan. Concerns raised by environmentalists, NGOs, and others have been addressed. Erdogan asked for USG support. The Secretary said that he hoped the Turks would talk to the companies. It is up to them to determine the feasibility and profitability of such pipelines. -------------- Nuclear Energy -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The PM referred to the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, or 123, agreement, stating that the Turks attach great importance to it. The Secretary replied that he and Secretary Rice had forwarded the signed agreement last week to President Bush, whom they expected would forward it to Congress shortly. ¶8. (SBU) Minister Guler indicated that Turkey currently gets 52 percent of its electricity from its own natural gas power plants. It plans to increase the number of hydroelectric and thermal power plants. Turkey will still, however, face future energy shortfalls. From a nuclear perspective, the PM said that Turkey plans to proceed with plans to build nuclear power plants because they are needed to meet gaps in Turkey's energy needs. In this regard, the Turks have spoken with the Canadians, the French, the British, and the Germans. (Note: the PM did not mention that in February 2006, Energy Minister Guler visited a nuclear power plant in the U.S.) The Secretary responded that we are prepared to work with the Turks on SIPDIS nuclear energy issues, that the Turks had participated as observers in the most recent GNEP Ministerial, and that we hoped they would join GNEP as a full fledged member. If the Turks elect not to join GNEP at this time, the Secretary said that he hoped they would participate in the next GNEP Ministerial in December as observers. -------------- Regional Issues -------------- ¶9. (SBU) PM Erdogan told Bodman that Turkey is going through a very important period in terms of peace and security both globally and regionally. He spoke positively of his November 5 meeting with President Bush. The task now is to implement what they discussed. ¶10. (SBU) The Secretary told the PM that we take our relationship with Turkey very seriously and that we view Turkey not just as an ally but also as a valuable friend. He noted that we appreciate Turkey's support for the war on terror and that we stand with Turkey in its battles with the PKK, because PKK is not just Turkey's enemy but also ours. ¶11. (U) This message was cleared by Secretary Bodman's party.