Ricciardone: US starts to see Turkey as Iraq energy bridge

Speaking at the US-Turkey Smart Grid Workshop in Istanbul on Wednesday, US Ambassador to Ankara Francis Ricciardone said that the US considered Turkey a bridge to Iraq's energy. "Energy has always led our economic relationship. In the 1990s when I was here, we were working on carrying Hazar energy and the Baku-Tiflis-Ceylan (BTC) oil pipeline. At that time, Clinton was supporting the government. Now here, we're discussing really important energy alternatives prompted by Turkey's strategic geographical location for both Turkey's and European markets. We are beginning to describe Turkey as bridge to Iraq's energy. We're very optimistic about that," Ricciardone said. Ricciardone also praised Turkey's progress in the energy field and its strategic geographical location, which enables implementing critically important projects for both Turkish and European markets.