Turkey Halts Nabucco Pipeline Talks With GDF

Turkey has reportedly halted talks with French utility Gaz de France about the Nabucco pipeline, which is planned to transport natural gas from Turkey to Austria via Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. The dispute is over a French government bill regarding the killing of Armenians in World War One, according to the BBC.

The BBC reported that the French government is considering passing a bill that will make it illegal to deny that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against Armenians during the war. According to the BBC, this is an offence that the Turkish government is staunchly denying, and as a result, the dispute has led to a stalemate in pipeline talks.

Reuters has reported an anonymous Turkish senior energy minister official as saying: “We will suspend partnership by Gaz de France (GDP) until the French presidential elections. We will decide according to policies to be followed after the elections.”

According to the BBC, GDF’s partnership in the E4.6 billion pipeline has been approved by Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, but Turkey’s announcement has put negotiations at a standstill. Other companies involved in the project include Bulgargaz, Transgaz MOL and OMV Gas, as well as Turkish firm Botas.