Russian-Turkish Natural Gas Pipeline May Leave Out Israel

ISTANBUL (June 8) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced today that plans to extend Russia's Blue Stream II gas pipeline from Turkey to Israel may be canceled. He said the decision had nothing to do with Israel's raid on Turkish ships heading to Gaza.

Speaking at a regional security summit in Istanbul, Putin said, "Israel, according to the data available, has found natural gas on its own continental shelf. Therefore I think Blue Stream [II] may not be extended to Israel because of economic concerns."

The announcement comes after Turkey threatened to cut all energy cooperation deals with Israel unless it apologizes for the deaths of nine Turkish citizens, including one with dual U.S. citizenship, killed last week when Israeli commandos boarded the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish ship aiming to bust Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Putin appears at press conference in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 8, 2010.

Vadim Ghirda, AP

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday in Istanbul that Moscow probably would scrap plans to extend an energy pipeline into Israel because Israel has found its own source of natural gas.

The Blue Stream II pipeline, which will run alongside an existing pipeline on the bed of the Black Sea, aims to transport Russian gas to the Middle East via Turkey.

The announcement comes at a time of increased cooperation between Russia and Turkey, two traditional rivals. Last month, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed $25 billion in deals with Ankara, including a deal to build Turkey's first nuclear power plant.

Both Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, denied that a decision not to extend the pipeline to Israel has a political motivation. "The assault on the Freedom flotilla is unrelated to gas deliveries," Putin was quoted as saying by the website of Russian broadcaster RT. "One should not speculate on human tragedy.

"The basic issue is Israel may not need this gas that much," Putin said.

Yet numerous Turkish news sources cited Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz last week mentioning Blue Stream II among projects the country would put on hold because of its differences with Israel.

Turkey is seeking an investigation and full apology from Israel for the deaths of its citizens. Though Erdogan insisted that the incident was "not on our agenda" during the energy talks, Putin has agreed to raise the issue at the United Nations.

"We can't allow a new flame to flare up in the Middle East," the Russian leader said. "We will raise the issue at the United Nations; we're working at it."

Increasingly a regional power, Turkey is seeking to serve as a bridge for a series of energy pipelines extending through the Middle East, Central Asia, Russia and Europe. At the security summit, Turkey also signed a deal with neighboring Azerbaijan to increase the amount of natural gas for a Western-backed energy pipeline, which is meant to reduce Europe's reliance on Russian energy.