ANKARA, Turkey, July 21 (UPI) — The consortium governing the Nabucco gas pipeline to Europe suggests language in an intergovernmental agreement leaves room for Iran as a potential supplier.
Ankara welcomed regional and international supporters last week to the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the $10.3 billion Nabucco gas pipeline.
Nabucco is seen as the foundation to European efforts to diversify an energy sector dependent on Russian natural gas.
Despite political support for Nabucco, the project lacks financial backing and firm commitments from supplier nations.
Iran, however, was not specifically included in the provisions of the Ankara agreement in order to win the explicit backing of Washington. But the language of provisions in the Ankara agreement was crafted in such a way that Iran may still play a role, Turkish daily Today’s Zaman reports.
