This means that Europe will become even more dependent on energy. It should be recalled that Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran and Iraq sit on most of the energy sources. The growing demand also makes energy transport lines crucially important. Energy transit security is as important as the energy sources. The energy peace project formulated by the US, England and Norway foresees transport of energy from the above sources to Europe. It is impossible to ignore Turkey during the implementation of this project given its vital geographical position and location. The current Nabucco and Southern Current projects reflect this delicacy and importance. One is supported by the US and Europe whereas Russia backs the other.There are two reasons for the inclusion of Russia in the system via an agreement signed on Aug. 6, 2009: Russia realizes 80 percent of energy transport over Ukraine; and it has crucial problems with this country since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Putin stated that Turkey may replace Ukraine as an energy transit country. This is a great advantage for Russia for this option will diversify the energy transport lines. But the most important point to underline is that Russia wants to be involved in the game. If Turkey's soil becomes the unavoidable route for the energy plants and transport lines, Russia should have a say in this competition and race for a sphere of influence.
The Nabucco Project foresees the creation of a web of energy transport between oil and gas-rich countries including Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Iraq as well as Armenia, Georgia and Syria and integration between the same countries in the field of energy. In this scenario, Syria also becomes important because of Iraqi oil and natural gas. Syria will serve as a major transit country to be crossed by the Arab Natural Gas Line. In this case, Syria will be an important gate through the Mediterranean.
Energy Minister Taner Yıldız draws attention to this point and says that the transport of resources in the east of Turkey to European countries via similar projects will raise Turkey to a different strategic position. Yıldız holds that both the Nabucco and Southern Current projects are long-term endeavors. In short, as eloquently stated by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkey is becoming a key country and a major actor in the flow of global energy. The issue of which route will be used to transport the 20 percent of Iraqi oil in the lands under the control of the Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq to the Mediterranean region and Europe has gained importance. Considering that northern Iraq does not have a coastline, these energy resources will be transported through Turkey or Syria. Of course, the US prefers Turkey; however, Egypt and Saudi Arabia prefer Syria because of their skeptical stance towards Turkey which they uphold will become even more important in the region in such a case. In this scenario, Syria should be rehabilitated and prevented from aligning with Iran; Turkey is the best candidate to accomplish this mission. To this end, we could argue that the following options are presented to Turkey for consideration:
1. If northern Iraqi oil is to be transported to Europe through Syria, this country should be aligned with the West. This will mean that the energy transport lines will be secured, that Iran will be made dysfunctional in the region and that Hezbollah and Hamas' logistical support will be cut off.
2. For the security of energy transport lines, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) should be weakened and even eliminated. To this end, the Kurdish initiative seeks to take the Kurdish question to a controllable level and to make sure that the PKK will no longer be a threat.
3. Because Armenia occupies a central place in the new transport route, Turkey's relations with this country should be improved.
From this perspective, the eagerness of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and EU High Representative Javier Solana to make contributions to the adoption of the protocols between Turkey and Armenia in Zurich was pretty illustrative.
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