Gul to seek closer energy ties with Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan

President Abdullah Gul will meet next weekend with his Azeri and Turkmen counterparts Ilham Aliyev and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan. The meeting is expected to focus on boosting energy cooperation among the three countries as well as ongoing energy projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipelines between Turkey and Turkic countries, and Nabucco, a pipeline to transport Caspian natural gas to Europe through Turkey. The European Union strongly supports Nabucco, seeing it as critical for ensuring energy security and reducing its energy dependence on Russia. The three leaders will also discuss bilateral relations among their countries.