Turkey reaffirms support for Nabucco plan

ANKARA, Turkey, May 21 (UPI) -- The Turkish president emphasized his country's interest in the Nabucco pipeline project in a meeting with his Austrian counterpart in Ankara.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Tuesday his country had the political will to back the 2,000-mile project and saw it as a way to provide energy security for Europe, the Turkish daily Hurriyet said.

Gul said his country was a link to the eastern and southern energy corridors of Europe and saw it as a viable opportunity to ease Europe of its dependency on Russian gas supplies.

The $5.8 billion Nabucco pipeline is slated for construction in 2010. It would run through Turkey and southeastern Europe to bring gas to the Middle East and Central Asia.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer said the Nabucco project was on the agenda for Tuesday's talks with Gul as well as discussions regarding Turkey's admission into the European Union.