A Turkmen solution to Turkey’s energy problem

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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The upcoming visit of Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov to Turkey offers an ideal opportunity for the region’s leading gas producer to make a firm commitment to a trans-Caspian pipeline strongly backed by the U.S. and the European Union, Eurasianet reported.

A Turkmen delegation has been in Ankara to work out the details surrounding Berdymukhamedov’s visit, which is scheduled to begin March 24. Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov said last week all arrangements had been finalized, although he did not provided any hints about possible announcements to be made by his country’s president.

In an earlier report, posted on the semi-official Turkmenistan.ru Web site, Meredov acknowledged that discussions were continuing to "finalize interstate agreements to be signed on the result of high-level talks."

Berdymukhamedov has spoken repeatedly of his interest in the trans-Caspian pipeline, or TCP, but has yet to make a firm commitment to the project. Turkmenistan’s participation would be sure to upset Russia, which controls Ashgabat’s gas exports.

Speculation mounted that the Turkmen president might finally give the go-ahead for exports via the TCP when, during a March 14 strategy session involving the country’s top energy officials, he described a "multi-directional approach" to exports as "absolutely pragmatic," according to a report broadcast on state television.