Because of Armenian Genocide bill Turkey suspended talks with Gaz de France

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey has suspended talks with Gaz de France (GDF) on the French firm's possible participation in a major Nabucco pipeline project, where key players are Turkey's energy ministry and the state-owned oil and gas company BOTAS, AFP reports citing the Anatolia news agency. The cause of suspending the talks is the bill pending in the French Senate. The bill penalizes denial of the Armenian Genocide. The five-company consortium plans to build a 3,300-kilometre conduit that will carry natural gas from the Middle East and Central Asia to the European Union via Turkey and the Balkans, bypassing Russia. The other partners in the venture are gas companies from Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The consortium had been in contact with GDF for some time as part of its efforts to find a sixth partner in the six-billion-dollar project, which is expected to become operational in 2012. The four other partners approved GDF's participation, but Turkey has opposed it because of a French draft law that makes it a criminal offense to deny the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Turkey during World War I. The bill was adopted by the French National Assembly in October 2006.



"We will suspend partnership with Gaz de France until the French presidential elections. We will decide according to policies to be followed after the elections," a senior energy ministry official, who declined to be named, said. Energy Minister Hilmi Guler declined to comment on the issue of Gaz de France. "We attach great importance to the Nabucco project. We realized the first phase of this project. Turkey is in an important position in meeting Europe's gas needs and we are aware of this," Guler stated to Reuters. Gaz de France had no immediate comment.