PM Erdogan in Bangalore: Proposal will allow India easier access to Central Asian energy resources
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  • Reports indicated that a plan to pipe oil and gas from Turkey to Israel and then ship it to India will be discussed when officials from the three countries meet in the near future. The Press Trust of India quoted Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as stating in Bangalore on November 25 that the proposal would allow India easier access to energy supplies from Central Asia and the Caspian region. The proposal came in the backdrop of the stalled India-Iran-Pakistan pipeline, held up by disagreements over costs, Indian fears about the pipeline's security, and strong US opposition.

    Turkey has positioned itself as a regional energy hub for routes bypassing Iran. The planned pipeline would run from the Caspian region to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. From there, a pipeline would run to Israel's Eilat port on the Red Sea. Shipping the crude and gas from Eilat would allow Indian tankers to avoid the Suez Canal. Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler on his part stated that Turkey had already conducted a feasibility study for the project and officials would likely meet in Turkey in the next month1.

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