New gas discoveries and new pipelines will be needed in the eastern Mediterranean[/B], US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said after her contacts in Turkey, adding that "it is in our interest to have strong relations between Turkey and Israel". "There are many different opportunities in the eastern Mediterranean, some of which will involve your immediate neighbors," the American official told the Turkish daily Hurriyet.
She also said that "the closure of the Black Sea was very important." "Even if Turkey does not participate in the sanctions, it should not allow Russia to use its territory to avoid the sanctions," Nuland said.
In an interview with the Turkish daily Hurriyet, the US Assistant Secretary of State commented on the Turkey-Israel rapprochement, saying "this is also in our interest. We are confident that it is in our interest to have strong relations between Turkey and Israel, both trade and energy relations."
"One of the issues that this war has brought before us is that many countries that import large amounts of Russian gas need to diversify their resources and do so quickly. That is, there are many different opportunities in the eastern Mediterranean, some of which will involve your immediate neighbors, new gas discoveries and new pipelines will be needed. We want to work on those issues and help Turkey diversify its resources especially against Russian gas."
On Ukraine, the U.S. official said that "Turkey certainly plays a central role" and that "the implementation of the Montreux Convention has been very important in terms of not using the Black Sea in this war."
He commented on Turkey's diplomatic efforts, saying that "when it comes to hosting talks, there are very few places where both Ukrainians and Russians feel equally comfortable. In this respect, President Tayyip Erdogan's efforts to host the talks are positive. Generally, peace talks are held after a ceasefire has been reached. However, Russia's reluctance for a ceasefire reinforces the possibility of no outcome and no solution. We consider it positive that the parties are coming to the table and announcing which issues they can and cannot agree on. However, there is a wide gap in the parties' views at the moment. What we all want to see now - and Turkey strongly wishes for it - is a ceasefire."
Victoria Nuland who had contacts in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said she had good discussions about the rationale behind the sanctions against Russia. "I think Turkey fully understands that we have to cut off the flow of money that feeds Putin's war machine and that he has to pay heavily for what he did in this war. Even if it can't participate in the sanctions, I think it's much more important for Turkey to be very careful not to become a dirty money pool of oligarchs by allowing them to use its territory to avoid sanctions. I see a good understanding from the Administration about these risks."
On the establishment of a strategic mechanism between the US and Turkey, Victoria Nuland said that "the best feature of this new mechanism is that it provides the opportunity to discuss all issues in a single format. We can talk about bilateral relations, whether it's trade, human rights and civil society issues. We can also talk about regional issues such as Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria and Ukraine. Given the fact that democracies act together, as authoritarian governments act together, we can also address global issues in this format."
Victoria Nuland said that "when NATO countries work together, when their systems are compatible, they are even more powerful and they are not dependent on countries like Russia. "We are aware of reports of unethical use of Russian weapons. I am optimistic that we will cooperate on this issue (S-400). You know, Turkey also has a desire to buy F-16s and we are talking about that as well. But more importantly, we continue to work on security issues from all sides."
Source: CNA
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