Babacan: "Turkey headed off a possible US-Russian conflict in the Black Sea"

Thanks to its clear, principled stance and good relations with both sides, Turkey skillfully managed the recent crisis in the Black Sea and headed off a possible conflict between the US and Russia, said Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday. In a TV interview, Babacan said that through its active policy, Turkey had emerged with a stronger hand from the conflict between Georgia and Russia. Stressing the importance of the balance between the two major powers in the Black Sea, he said, "Turkey preserved the balance between the US and Russia in the Black Sea by fully applying the Montreux Convention." Touching on speculations over a possible gas crisis in the coming winter months, Babacan said they were not expecting a shortage in Turkey's natural gas imports from Russia in the wake of the Georgian crisis. He said Turkey's relations with Russia are based on mutual trust and that Russia would continue to be a reliable partner for Turkey in the future. Babacan said that his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov had unequivocally rejected speculations of a shortage during his recent visit to Turkey. On President Abdullah Gul's recent visit to Armenia, Babacan said that they had seen the Armenian side's determination to resolve the Upper Karabakh issue with Azerbaijan.