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Viewing cable 05ANKARA6310, TURKEY-ISRAEL: NORTH-SOUTH ENERGY AND WATER LINKS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05ANKARA6310 2005-10-18 13:40 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Ankara
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006310 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 4212/ITA/MAC/CPD/CRUSNAK 
DOE FOR CHARLES WASHINGTON 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
EUR ALSO FOR DAS BRYZA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EPET ENRG EINV TU IS RU
SUBJECT:  TURKEY-ISRAEL: NORTH-SOUTH ENERGY AND WATER LINKS 
 
REF: ANKARA 5298 and previous 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please Handle Accordingly. 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary: Turkey and Israel announced ambitious 
plans for energy and water links, building on earlier 
announcements from both countries with Russia.  This North- 
South energy corridor is intended to complement, not compete 
with, the East-West Energy Corridor.  For Turkey, it is 
important that these linkages include northern Cyprus.  The 
ideas are long-term and futuristic but could make a 
contribution Turkey's economic integration with the Middle 
East, as well as to reducing the isolation of northern 
Cyprus.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------- 
Energy and Water Pipe-(Dreams) 
----------------------------- 
 
2.  (SBU)  In an October 14 meeting with econoff, the 
Israeli DCM confirmed a flurry of recent press about 
proposed "North-South" energy and water links arising from 
the recent visit of GOI Minister of Infrastructure Benjamin 
Ben-Eliezer to Turkey and the meeting of the Turko-Israel 
energy working group, and building from earlier high-level 
meetings in Jerusalem and Moscow.  He confirmed that there 
was an agreement between Israel and Turkey to pursue the 
following initiatives (in order of likely probability and/or 
timing of realization): 
 
-ELECTRICITY links between Turkey and Israel (and northern 
Cyprus, Jordan, and Palestine).  The countries would study 
the possibility of transmission inter-connectibility, 
subject to EU UCTE technical restrictions and economic 
feasibility.  As a first concrete step of energy 
cooperation, Turkey's Zorlu Energy Group and Israel's Solbar 
Industries announced plans to jointly build a gas-fired $360 
million power station in southern Israel. 
 
-OIL links between and through Turkey and Israel (to carry 
oil to India and China).  This is envisioned as an extension 
of Turkey's long-sought Samsun-Ceyhan Bosphorus oil bypass 
from the Black Sea (reftel).  Ceyhan would be linked by 
tankers or pipeline to Israel, and then -- via the Ashekelon- 
Elat pipeline -- to the Red Sea (bypassing the Suez canal) 
to carry oil to Asia. 
 
-WATER links between Turkey, Northern Cyprus, and Israel. 
Turkey recently announced that Turkey would build a 78 km 
water pipeline to the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" 
("TRNC"), citing the Turkish Alarko group as champion. 
According to the Turks, the water pipeline is intended to 
ultimately serve regional, rather than only bilateral needs, 
facilitating linkages and efforts for settlement in Cyprus, 
and reduce the cost of an eventual pipeline to carry water 
from Turkey to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan.  The Israel 
DCM admitted that there were economic challenges to making 
the project workable, given the probably lower cost of 
desalination.  He also referenced the defunct white elephant 
water project in Manavgat in southern Turkey, which was 
based on original plans to collect water for Israel (he 
noted that, particularly given high oil prices, it was not 
economic to export water by tanker). 
 
-NATURAL GAS links with Israel address Turkey's long- 
standing desire to re-export Russian gas, potentially from a 
burgeoning energy hub at Ceyhan, but are dependent on 
Russian support for re-export and a Samsun-Ceyhan natural 
gas link to the "Blue Stream" link.  The Israeli official 
admitted that Israel did not have an acute need for gas, 
having signed a contract with Egypt, but Israel was 
interested in long-term diversification and was receptive to 
Turkey's strong support for this element of the North-South 
corridor.  He emphasized that Turkey had struck expensive, 
non-transparent deals with Russia, and Israel would not 
subsidize these bad deals. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Comment - Pipelines for Peace and Prosperity 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) Believing that Turkey's vision of North-South 
linkages must include northern Cyprus, the DCM thought U.S. 
assent would be necessary for such projects to move forward. 
Israel is game to support Turkey's commitment to Bosphorus 
bypass and links to "TRNC," in exchange for Turkish support 
for connections with Israel and its quest for 
diversification and Suez bypass alternatives.  While aspects 
of the plans are futuristic and optimistic, there is an 
attractive element in linkages contributing to peace 
(although pipelines follow - and reinforce - peace, not vice 
versa).  The broad and ambitious Turkey-Israel bilateral 
energy and water cooperation follows and builds on 
comparably ambitious Turkish-Russian MOU/wishlist, 
propounded at four Erdogan-Putin meetings over the past 
year. 
MCELDOWNEY