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  • ANKARA: France to regain access to Turkish energy industry after

    Today's Zaman, Turkey
    June 22 2012


    France to regain access to Turkish energy industry after genocide row

    22 June 2012 / REUTERS, ST PETERSBURG


    Turkey's resumption of diplomatic ties with France means French
    companies may regain some, if not full access to Turkey's energy
    sector, including its nuclear industry, Turkey's Energy Minister Taner
    Yıldız said on Friday.
    After a meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an
    and new French President Francois Hollande, Ankara announced on
    Thursday it would restore ties with France after a six-month hiatus in
    a dispute over the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks.

    Ankara cancelled all economic, political and military meetings with
    Paris in December after France's lower house of parliament voted
    overwhelmingly in favor of a draft law to make it illegal to deny that
    the killings amounted to genocide.

    France's highest court overturned the law two months later but the
    Turkish measures, which included restrictions on French military
    aircraft and ships landing or docking on its territory, have remained
    in place.

    Yıldız said the government expected an improvement in relations with
    Hollande in power.

    "I believe that this burden will be taken out or removed after the
    meeting (Hollande) had with his excellency ErdoÄ?an," Yıldız told
    reporters during an economic forum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

    "As the energy sector we are ready for a variety of cooperation with
    France, although our projects and our business is really large and we
    can not separate them from the international politics," he said.

    "Therefore we cannot ignore some political approaches that will affect
    our industry. I believe that from now on the prospects will be much
    better compared to the time of (Hollande's predecessor Nicolas)
    Sarkozy."

    Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says about 1.5
    million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey
    during World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the
    Ottoman government.

    Turkey says there was a heavy loss of life on both sides during the
    fighting in which Armenian partisans supported invading Russian
    forces.

    Ties weakened during Sarkozy's term in office, when the former French
    president was also an outspoken opponent of Turkish membership in the
    European Union.

    Iran ties

    Noting Turkey's relationship with Iran was "not like the relationship
    of any European countries with Iran," Yıldız said Turkey would
    continue to import some Iranian crude oil after its sole refiner cut
    imports of Iranian crude by 20 percent.

    The EU itself has largely banned intake of Iranian crude from July 1.
    Iran's oil buyers around the world have been cutting imports to avoid
    US financial sanctions which aim to stop Iran's nuclear program
    through effective limits on dollar transactions.

    Washington is pressing Turkey to cut Iranian supplies over the next
    six months or face sanctions, but the 20 percent cut has earned Ankara
    a 180-day exemption from financial sanctions, during which Halkbank
    can make payments for imports.

    "The oil trade being done with Iran right now is not illegal. So trade
    operations are being implemented within all of those laws and
    regulations," Yıldız, said, adding it was able to pay for oil in
    Turkish lira.

    He said the lost Iranian volumes would be replaced by Libyan and Saudi
    Arabian crude, which have been in greater supply through increased use
    of Saudi spare capacity and the recovery of the Libyan energy industry
    from a violent uprising which ousted Muammar Gaddafi.

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