ECONOMY
CONTRACT ON TURKEY-GREECE-ITALY GAS PIPELINE PROJECT INKED IN ROME
Turkey’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Hilmi Guler, Greece’s Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas, Italy’s Economic Development Minister Pierluigi Bersani signed a contract on the Turkey-Greece-Italy gas pipeline project in Rome. This project is very important for transporting natural gas reserves from the Caspian basin to Europe.
With this contract, Turkey-Greece pipeline will be extended to Italy via the Adriatic Sea.
After the contract was signed, the U. S. Department of state released a statement congratulating all three countries. Department Spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States congratulates all three ministers on signing the contract. According to him, the contract creates commercial and legal basis for transportation of the natural gas from the Caspian basin. By signing the contract, all three parties will contribute to development of the Caspian region with the support of the USA and European Union.
Following the signing ceremony, Hilmi Guler told journalists that the contract is very important both for Turkey and Europe. Natural gas transportation to Greece will start in August. As soon as this project is over, Azerbaijani gas will be shipped to the Western Europe.