Keith Johnson writes:\u00a0 During a four-hour helicopter ride over the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara in early February, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and Russia\u2019s Gazprom boss, Alexey Miller, mapped out plans that could potentially rebuild the long-adversarial relationship between their two countries.<\/p>\n
But Yildiz and Miller also traced what could be the newest fault line in Europe\u2019s geopolitical landscape. That helicopter ride, and the subsequent formal agreement signed in early May, suggest Turkey\u2019s patience with Brussels is wearing thin\u2014the EU, after all, has been slow-footing the country\u2019s membership for decades now\u2014and Ankara\u2019s willingness to support Europe\u2019s foreign-policy priorities, from diversifying energy resources to isolating Russia, is diminishing. Now, this one pipeline, which could deliver gas as early as next year, could have the power to embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin, endanger a critical alliance the West has spent decades cultivating, and upend Eurasia\u2019s entire energy and security landscape.<\/p>\n
Turkey would become a middleman for Europe\u2019s energy buyers, and it would be precisely the linchpin Moscow needs to keep an energy hold on the continent.\u00a0\u00a0 Turkey Plays the Gas Game<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keith Johnson writes:\u00a0 During a four-hour helicopter ride over the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara in early February, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and Russia\u2019s Gazprom boss, Alexey Miller, mapped out plans that could potentially rebuild the long-adversarial … Continue reading