Karamanlis and Erdogan inaugurate Greek-Turkish natgas pipeline

   Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the bridge over the Evros River at Kipous on Sunday, at the border between Greece and Turkey, for the inauguration of the Greek-Turkish natural gas pipeline that went into operation on that day.

    The two prime ministers shook hands and posed for a photograph, after which Karamanlis got into the Turkish premier's car and they went to Ipsala on the Turkish side of the border for an inauguration ceremony. This was the second time that the two prime ministers met on the bridge over the Evros River, the first time being in July 2005 when work on the project first began.

    The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, U.S. Secretary for Energy Samuel Bodman and Greek Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas, who had been instrumental in the execution of the project as development minister.

    The pipeline is eventually expected to bring natural gas from the Caspian Sea via Turkey and Greece to Italy and from there to the rest of Europe.

    The two prime ministers inaugurated the project in twin ceremonies held at Ipsala in Edirne, Turkey and at Peplos in Evros, on the Greek side of the border, with Karamanlis sending a message that "we can plan actions and carry out works that contribute to building a better future".

    Addressing the Turkish side, meanwhile, the Greek premier stressed that Greece, its government and all its political forces were "once again seeking good neighbour relations, relations of cooperation, relations of continual rapprochement between the two peoples".

    In his own message, Erdogan expressed hope that the cooperation between Greece and Turkey on this first major and important project would extend to political and cultural issues between the two countries.

   

    PM to visit Turkey at the start of 2008

   

    Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is expected to visit Turkey around the start of 2008. This was agreed during a 20-minute meeting between Karamanlis and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday in the Turkish town of Ipsala, near the border with Greece.

    The two prime ministers had earlier taken part in a ceremony in Ipsala inaugurating the operation of a Greek-Turkish natural gas pipeline.

    They said the exact date and details of the visit would be decided via diplomatic channels.

    Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan is due to visit Athens on December 3.

    There was no agenda for the meeting between the two premiers, who said they had discussed bilateral issues, Turkey's prospects of EU accession and the importance of the pipeline's operation for relations between their two countries.

    The Greek premier also had a brief meeting with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, during which they discussed bilateral cooperation in energy, economic affairs and trade.

   

    Party reactions

   

    Commenting on the inauguration of the pipeline in an announcement on Sunday, the Communist Party of Greece said the working and popular classes should treat the celebrations with distrust, because they would gain nothing from its operation.

    "The jobs created will be minimal, while the broader masses will not even benefit from cheap or safe natural gas, because this will be exploited by large business groups. On the contrary, the dangers that arise from imperialist competition, which is constantly getting stronger, in order to control energy and its pathways are extremely great," the announcement added.

   

   

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