Hungary's prime minister hopeful for Nabucco deal with Turkey
Hungary's prime minister said he is hopeful that talks over a pipeline that would transport natural gas from the Caucasus to Western markets will resume smoothly soon.
Talks for the project have been hindered by Turkey's request to be entitled to 15 percent of the gas flowing through the Nabucco pipeline. The European Union says Turkey must pay the normal transit fee.
Turkey's position on the issue was "responsible and flexible", Ferenc Gyurcsany was quoted by AP as telling at a joint news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
Gyurcsany said he was hopeful an accord would be signed.
The pipeline aims to reduce the EU's dependence on Russia and is planned to run from the Caspian Sea across Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to Austria.
The Hungarian prime minister said Budapest would host a conference on Nabucco in January, adding he will be pleased with Mr. Erdogan's participation in the Nabucco conference.
He also reiterated support for Turkey's accession to the European Union. Hungary welcomes Turkey's EU reforms and it will continue its political and practical support so the process ends in success, Gyurcsany said.
Erdogan said they discussed especially the global financial crisis besides the recent international and regional developments.
"This constitutes an appropriate basis to develop political, economic, commercial and cultural relations too," Erdogan said referring to his meeting with his Hungarian counterpart.
The Turkish prime minister also said he believed that the trade volume between the two countries, which was $1.9 billion, would increase.
Turkish Daily News
