Israeli radio: Turkey ready for talks on gas transfer

By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur

ANKARA (AA) - Israel's official radio station claimed on Sunday that Turkey said it was ready to negotiate with Tel Aviv on transferring Israeli natural gas to Europe.

"Ankara has expressed its willingness to enter into negotiations with Jerusalem on transferring Israeli gas supplies to the European continent through Turkish territory," reported state-run Kan radio.

"A high-ranking Turkish energy source has conveyed a message in this regard to Israel, explaining that his country is waiting for the formation of a stable government in Israel and the appointment of a new energy minister to discuss this issue," the statement said.

A reserve of roughly 800 billion cubic meters of natural gas are estimated to lie under the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields off Israel's coast, with around 2.2 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves awaiting discovery, according to Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.