Turkish Forum

Category: East Asia & Pacific

  • Korea-Turkey nuclear plant talks hit snag

    Korea-Turkey nuclear plant talks hit snag

    By Kim Tong-hyung

    Turkey will start talks with Japanese industrial giant Toshiba over its plans to build a nuclear power plant on its Black Sea coast after negotiations with South Korea hit a snag over money.

    Korea’s state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. had reached a preliminary agreement with Turkish state power company EUAS in March to jointly bid for the contract to build the northern Turkey power plant, which is to be completed by 2019 and estimated to be worth about $20 billion.

    However, the conflict over the plant’s price tag appears to be a significant issue, with Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ending their summit in Seoul Saturday without a deal in place.

    Although the Ministry of Knowledge Economy insists that the pause in the talks is just a speed bump and says that the talks will resume as soon as possible. However, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz commenting about inviting Toshiba to the picture shows that the country is open about exploring other options, which would give them better leverage in the talks with Korea at the least.

    Yildiz said the talks with Korea had snagged on issues concerning financial terms, treasury guarantees and the distribution of shares in the planned company that would build and operate the plant.

    “Turkey has agreed to consider some additional and renewed offers presented by us in the recent negotiations. We believe that the negotiations will resume quickly and the countries will be inking a deal soon enough,’’ said an official from the ministry’s nuclear-energy development division.

    “The contract has to include financial terms related to the plant construction as well as electricity sales price.’’

    Korea has been accelerating its attempt to strengthen its position in an expanding market for nuclear-plant construction and operation. The country currently has 20 nuclear-power plants, which provide around 40 percent of the country’s electricity needs.

    In December last year, a team of Korean firms won an $18.6 billion project to build four power-generating nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates, beating out rival candidates from the United States and France.

    Korea aims to secure $400 billion of contracts by 2030 as demand for nuclear plants increases. Potential deals are expected in India, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

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  • Talks Between Turkey & S. Korea On Nuclear Power Plant Fail

    Talks Between Turkey & S. Korea On Nuclear Power Plant Fail

    yildizTalks that were carried out in Seoul on construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey failed.

    Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said, “We can’t reach a consensus with South Korea. Talks with Japan will begin at the end of the Sacrifice Feast.”

    Replying questions of reporters, Yildiz said both Turkey and South Korea share the same determination and intention regarding the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey but the points of disagreement could not be overcome.

    Yildiz said, “Some new reformative conditions had been offered. And, we declared reconsideration. However, we will start to hold talks with other countries. We need a quick negotiation process.”

    Taner Yildiz said their decision to build a nuclear power plant in Turkey has remained same.

    TRT World

  • George W Bush memoirs: foreign powers and Tony Blair

    George W Bush memoirs: foreign powers and Tony Blair

    Cowboy Bush and Wse BlairGeorge W Bush, the former US president, has launched his memoirs and given a series of interviews, which provide fascinating insights into his views on foreign powers, among them Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister.

    By Andy Bloxham

    On Tony Blair:

    He compared Mr Blair to Winston Churchill and disclosed that, on the eve of the war in Iraq, the British PM was willing to risk bringing down the Government to push through a vital vote. He cites Mr Blair’s “wisdom and his strategic thinking as the prime minister of a strong and important ally”, adding: “I admire that kind of courage. People get caught up in all the conventional wisdom, but some day history will reward that kind of political courage.”

    On British and European public opinion:

    The former president was frank about the lack of weight he attached to how he was thought of in the UK both while he was in power and since he left it, saying: “It doesn’t matter how people perceive me in England. It just doesn’t matter any more. And frankly, at times, it didn’t matter then.” He said: “People in Europe said: “Ah, man, he’s a religious fanatic, cowboy, simpleton.” All that stuff… If you believe that freedom is universal, then you shouldn’t be surprised when people take courageous measures to live in a free society.”

    On Saddam:

    “There were things we got wrong in Iraq but that cause is eternally right,” he said. “People forget he was an enemy, he had invaded countries, everybody thought he had weapons of mass destruction, it became clear that he had the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction. What would life be like if Saddam Hussein were [still] in power? It is likely you would be seeing a nuclear arms race.” He also adds that Saddam disclosed his reasons for pretending to have WMDs when he could have avoided war were because “he was more worried about looking weak to Iran than being removed by the coalition.”

    On Afghanistan:

    “Our government was not prepared for nation building. Over time, we adapted our stratedy and our capabilities. Still, the poverty in Afghanistan is so deep, and the infrastructure so lacking, that it will take many years to complete the work.”

    On Iran:

    “A government not of the people is never capable of being held to account for human rights violations. Iran will be better served if there is an Iranian-style democracy. They play like they’ve got elections but they’ve got a handful of clerics who decide who runs it.”

    On China:

    He believes its internal politics will stop it being a superpower economy to rival the US for many years. “China, no question, is an emerging economy. China has plenty of internal problems which means that, in my judgment, they are not hegemonistic. They will be seeking raw materials.”

    On Syria:

    Mr Bush recounts an incident when Israel’s then-prime minister Ehud Olmert called him to ask him to bomb what Mossad agents had discovered was a secret nuclear facility in Syria. He said no but Israel destroyed it without warning him. Telling the story appears to signal his displeasure at not being told.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8119227/George-W-Bush-memoirs-foreign-powers-and-Tony-Blair.html, 09 Nov 2010

  • President Gül says Turkey may join ranks of BRIC countries

    President Gül says Turkey may join ranks of BRIC countries

    President Abdullah Gül has said he hoped Turkey’s economic progress would take it into the ranks of emerging BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — although he made it clear Turkey remains committed to joining the European Union.

    Gül, in an interview with the Financial Times, said the international order was shifting towards the East. “It wouldn’t be surprising if we start talking about BRIC plus T,” he said. The BRIC countries are considered to be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development, and their growing influence in the global scene is seen as an indication of the shift in economic power from the developed West towards the developing world.

    Turkey, which has built closer ties with its Middle East neighbors under the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, has been accused in the West of turning away from the Western club and cozying up to countries such as Iran.

    Gül, who was on a visit to Britain to receive the prestigious Chatham House Prize, said in the interview that Turkey still saw membership in the EU as a “strategic vision” and wanted to be part of the principles that Europe defends, promising that Ankara would make sure it met all standards required for membership even though large parts of its entry negotiations are frozen.

    But Gül, speaking a day before the European Commission criticized Turkey for restrictions on freedom of expression and over Cyprus in an annual progress report released on Tuesday, also complained of political obstacles raised by some EU member countries. “We see certain political issues being included in the process, which have the effect of slowing down and, to a certain extent, hijacking these negotiations. We are not happy about this,” Gül told the Financial Times on Monday.

    Speaking in Oxford also on Monday, Gül said some EU member states were creating “artificial problems” in Turkey’s EU membership negotiations but said Turkey would stick to the task. “The injection of some political issues of certain member countries in the negotiating process leads to certain artificial problems that in our point of view are not fair and not acceptable,” he said at an event hosted by the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. “But Turkey is determined to move forward in the direction of working on the negotiations,” he said.

    Gül declined to name any country when he complained that certain, unnamed, “short-sighted” EU countries had hidden behind the Greek Cypriots to pursue their own objective of delaying Turkey’s membership bid in interviews with the British media. But Turkish officials say some EU countries, such as France, are using the impasse over Cyprus to stall Turkey’s accession bid.

    He also said one cannot say for sure that Turkey will eventually join the EU because there will be public votes in several EU countries on Turkish membership after conclusion of accession talks with Turkey. “When the time comes, those countries will decide whether or not Turkey would be a burden on them. Maybe Turkish people would say, ‘although we concluded the negotiation process successfully, let us not be a member’,” Gül told the BBC’s “HARDtalk.”

    Responding to a question on Turkey’s position regarding a planned NATO-wide missile defense system, Gül was hopeful that the alliance’s upcoming summit in Lisbon will produce a consensus on the issue. “The NATO Summit will convene in Lisbon next week. I think everybody will reach a consensus in the end,” he said.

    Turkey insists that no country should be named as a potential threat in relevant NATO documents, a reference to Turkey’s neighbor, Iran.

    When it was pointed out that US President Barack Obama addressed Muslim countries and relayed messages about peace and dialogue when he first came to power and he was asked whether Obama has caused disappointment since then, Gül said: “No, I think he is kindhearted. He does good things sincerely. However, maybe he could not succeed. Not only Muslims but others should listen to Obama. He should also persuade others, not just one party, to achieve peace in the region.”

    via Today’s Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news.

  • Turkey invites China over for wargames

    Turkey invites China over for wargames

    POSTED BY UNCLE JIMBO • [NOVEMBER 09, 2010]

    WTF? This is just another sign that we are facing some major changes in the strategic balance of power. China is on the move and so is Turkey, and the move is away from the US.

    The Turkish and Chinese air forces secretly participated in a military drill in Konya as part of the “Anatolian Eagle” war games, prompting a reaction from Washington, daily Taraf reported Thursday.

    It’s even better when you look at the route they took to get to the party.

    The Chinese fighters flew to Turkey, after stopping in Pakistan and Iran.

    Gee there is just a lovely chain of bad actors all in a row. Anyone who thinks the Chinese are not about expanding their reach ought to explain the blue water navy and 5th generation fighters they are building, or those troops in Kashmir, or the manufactured beef w/ Japan. They are in a very advantageous position vis a vis America and they are damn sure taking advantage of it.

    Time to deploy Hillary. Seriously turn her loose. Get Some!

    via BLACKFIVE: Turkey invites China over for wargames & chai.

  • UPDATE 1-Turkey may eye alternative to S.Korea nuclear plant | Energy & Oil | Reuters

    UPDATE 1-Turkey may eye alternative to S.Korea nuclear plant | Energy & Oil | Reuters

    * South Korea must take steps to secure deal

    * Turkey plans to make decision on plant by end-Dec

    (Adds quotes, details, background)

    By Orhan Coskun

    ANKARA, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Turkey may assess bids from Europe and other countries to build a nuclear power plant on the Black Sea if it fails to reach a deal with South Korea on the project, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Wednesday.

    He said talks on the planned plant at Sinop in northern Turkey would continue at the G-20 meetings in Seoul, but that a deal with South Korea would not be possible if that country failed to take the necessary action in negotiations.

    Yildiz said that issues such as shareholdings, investment volumes and guarantees needed to be clarified.

    “As Turkey, we have reached the final possible point in talks with South Korea on a nuclear power plant. In our contacts, South Korea must take a step for there to be an agreement,” Yildiz told Reuters.

    via UPDATE 1-Turkey may eye alternative to S.Korea nuclear plant | Energy & Oil | Reuters.