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| Nabucco pipeline (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
One such "politician" voiced his opinion again on Monday against the South Stream pipeline project, but also the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline as well. Even those who are still optimistic that the US will finally support Greek interests in the area were dumbfounded with the comments that were made by Matthew Bryza (US Energy Secretary) at the Athens Energy Forum 2013 (which was an event that was held on Monday by a company that conducts public relations for Lockheed Martin in Greece).
- He openly (and without any shame) spoke in favor of transporting the natural gas from that has been discovered in Cyprus and Israel via Turkey to Greece. In other words, Turkey will "open" and "close" the supply of gas that was found within its territorial waters and Turkey will hold the on and off button on the flow of gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe! He even argued that this option is more economical than the construction of an undersea pipeline that will connect Cyprus with Greece.
- He spoke out against the bid to award Russian companies with DEPA-DESFA, but did not specify whether the money from the financial loss suffered by Greece would be paid by the US. It needs to be noted that US companies have shown no interest whatsoever in Greece's privatization program.
- He stated that he believed that the Government of Azerbaijan (he is a former ambassador to Azerbaijan) and the European Commission are in favor of the Nabucco pipeline to transport natural gas from the Shah Deniz deposit to Europe, since it offers access to more countries.
In other words, Bryza, stood up in front of members of the Greek government -who were present at the event- and the voice of the TAP project, Minister for the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Mr. A. Papageorgiou and without any hesitation said that Greece has no hope to join the game of energy pipelines.
If this does happen, and the TAP pipeline is not preferred, then it would definitely be the ultimate tragedy for our country. Every move our country has made in order to be part of this new energy game has been blocked by all those voices that support Turkey. Although Greece wants good relations with the United States, there are still some people in Washington (thankfully not all,) but nonetheless some big honchos who have fought tooth and nail against Greece's participation in the South Stream pipeline project, or any other pipeline project. In fact Greece was the only country where their propaganda war actually worked.
Bulgaria, which was until recently governed by Mr. Borisov (an American alley) is going to participate in the South Stream project and now that this country is going to participate in TAP the US is pointing to the Nabucco pipeline as well. No propaganda wars here at all! If we did not know any better, it is almost like some US politicians are purposely working at keeping Greece (100 percent) out of the energy game, and this is indeed puzzling and surely very, very troublesome.
At the same conference, the vice president of BP, John Baldwin, who is responsible for operating the Shah Deniz deposit, presented the investments that are required for the transit of gas through Georgia and Turkey as well as the pipeline that will eventually be selected to transport the gas to the EU. Unfortunately he too more or less "photographed" the Nabucco pipeline!
(Conclusion - Both the US and the UK are obviously working together against Greece's interests.)
And if that wasn't enough, Mr. Hugh Pope, an executive member of the International Crises Center presented his proposal for supplying Europe with natural gas from Eastern Mediterranean gas supplies through Turkey (and not through Greece) and even characterized this as the only realistic solution.
On his part, the director of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) Mr. T.Dokos referred to the possibility of Iranian natural gas to the EU. He also said he believed that there will not be substantial progress in Greek-Turkish relations this year, especially not before the elections in Turkey. Although he did not speak in favor of transporting natural gas to Europe via Turkey, he nonetheless did not reject the possibility ...
Background On Mathew Bryza & His Involvment in Greece & Cyprus' Energy Designs
Some of you may recognize the name of Matthew Bryza. For those who don't know who he is, Bryza is a diplomat who was directly/indirectly no one knows) involved in a story that deals with sex, marriage and natural gas and oil pipelines.
In April 2001, Bryza joined the US National Defence Council as Director for Europe and Eurasia, with responsibility for coordinating US policy on Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Caspian energy.
On June 29, 2007, Mr. Bryza, cast a warning shot to the then prime minister Costas Karamanlis in a story that was featured in the Greek daily "TO BHMA" stating the former premier should "not move ahead with the pipeline" project. (Meaning the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline venture). Karamanlis did not take any of this seriously, and continued to move ahead with the project and several days later the former PM signed the agreement with (the then) Russian Prime Minister Vladamir Putin.
This was apparently not appreciated and on August 23, 2007 a whopping 170 fires suddenly and mysteriously broke out all over the Peloponnese where dozens of innocent people lost their lives. On the same day though, in Constantinopole, Bryza was marrying his sweetheart Turkish journalist Zeyno Baran, who coincidentally wrote an article in the March 14, 2007 edition of the American journal NATIONAL REVIEW about the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, warning about the dangers of the Greek, Bulgarian and Russian energy agreement.
Her article essentially threw another warning shot to former Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis that he was amongst "bad company". Coincidence, one would say ... But is it?
(Read more about there sudden love story, and who they really represent by clicking here).
http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/12/special-report-where-fires-of.html
On March 16, 2007 an article in the National Review by Bryza said:
“By now, almost everyone in Europe is aware of Russia’s use of energy as a political weapon. Even so, as the EU struggles to reach a common stance toward Russia, the Kremlin is about to extend its control over Greek and Bulgarian energy infrastructures–another ominous development in the relationship between Russia and the EU.(Conclusion: If the government of Costas Karamanlis moved ahead with the deal with Russia then this would sour the US.)
President Putin’s upcoming trip to Athens this week places the Greek leadership in a difficult situation. Greece is expected to approve the Russia-backed Burgas-Alexandroupolis (B-A) oil-pipeline project. If it permits Moscow to create such a valuable infrastructure asset, which will be 51 percent owned by Russia, Athens risks undermining not only its own energy security, but that of the entire European Union. Furthermore, the construction of B-A would strain Greece-Turkey relations.
Greece should instead take the politically difficult but strategically wise decision to shelve the project, thus maintaining its sovereignty, contributing to European energy security, and preserving the critically important energy partnership that it is developing with Turkey.
At issue are two interlinked projects: the B-A oil pipeline and the Turkey-Greece-Italy (TGI) gas pipeline. On both, there exist ways to cooperate that would benefit European energy security and diversification away from Russia.
Increasingly large volumes of oil from Russia and the Caspian flow into the Black Sea and through the Turkish straits to world markets. Since this dangerously narrow and congested waterway cannot handle more oil-tanker traffic, all agree that there is need for at least one bypass pipeline. There are thus several competing proposals for the development of Black Sea export routes, from Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Of these, however, only the Bulgarian route is directly backed by the Kremlin.
B-A, which would begin in the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Bourgas and end at Alexandroupolis on the Greek Aegean coast, is yet another Russian project undertaken not on a commercial basis, but strictly for political reasons. Some companies have been pressured by Russia to support B-A against their will. Although the Greek government seems to believe that it needs this pipeline for strategic reasons, the pipeline will only damage Greek–and European–interests.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy Andrei Dementiyev, Russia’s coordinator for the B-A project, stated clearly at the beginning of this month, “With Transneft as the operator of this pipeline, we envisage that Burgas-Alexandroupolis would be a de facto part of our own pipeline system.” While the EU is struggling to come up with a common position in working with Russia, if two of its members–Greece and Bulgaria–give control of their pipelines to Russia, they would be damaging EU solidarity. Because the Greek government seems to be locked into thinking it absolutely needs this pipeline, it has agreed to terms that will leave it under Russian control.
Furthermore, in order to secure oil for B-A, Greece may have to agree to accept the participation of the Russian natural-gas monopoly Gazprom in the separate TGI pipeline–which would entirely negate the whole purpose of a non-Russian gas transit route to Europe. TGI is a win-win project between Turkey and Greece that will deliver Azeri gas to EU markets. Considering Europe’s tremendous need for energy supplies (specifically gas), and in light of Russia’s intimidation-based energy policy towards the EU, access to an alternative source of gas is extremely important. TGI is already making real progress, and by the end of this year Azerbaijan will already start sending small volumes of much-needed gas to Greece via TGI. In nine years Azerbaijan could export one-third of what Russia currently sends to Europe. This significant volume would free the EU to a considerable extent from Moscow’s grip.
If Greece goes ahead with the B-A pipeline, it will lead to tension with Turkey, which prefers the Samsun-Ceyhan bypass route instead. In its attempt to reduce tanker traffic through the Straits, Turkey itself considered an even shorter bypass oil-pipeline that would end in the Aegean, but dropped it in part due to a number of environmental risks. It is now developing a much longer oil pipeline that would bring oil to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
Greece needs to be strategic: it doesn’t need the B-A pipeline, especially not the way it is structured, but it does need the TGI gas pipeline, which is dependent on cooperation with Turkey.
As we have seen before in Lithuania, Poland, and elsewhere, EU and NATO memberships are not sufficient to protect a country from Russian pressure. Now that this is happening again with key EU member and NATO ally Greece, will the transatlantic alliance finally say “enough”?
The Ukrainian gas crisis in January 2006 brought energy security to the forefront of the EU agenda, finally awakening European nations from the apathy they exhibited towards Russia for many years. In a sign of hope, the EU leaders under the leadership of German Chancellor Angela Merkel began to exhibit this new approach when last week in Brussels she agreed on measures to help Europe reduce its reliance on Russia by 2020. Yet, however hopeful, such measures can never be truly effective if a single member state can undermine them. If Greece does not make the right decision next week, it will surrender to the Kremlin a key piece of the EU’s energy infrastructure–turning this strategic vision into a strategic mess.”
In the US at the time, and in accordance with reports, American President Barak Obama was ignoring repeated warnings that the candidate he was nominating as Ambassador to Azerbaijan in May 2010 had serious flaws. Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee accused Bryza of having a pro-Azerbaijani bias and questionable ties to Azeri officials. The Senators were troubled by reports that foreign officials had given Bryza lavish gifts at his Istanbul wedding, during which the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan had served as a groomsman.
In addition, Bryza's Turkish-born wife Zeyno Baran was accused of conflicts of interest while working on Caspian energy issues at a Washington think tank. She had also antagonized the Armenian-American community by testifying against recognition of the Armenian Genocide at a Senate Subcommittee hearing.
When Obama failed to take these concerns seriously, Senators Barbara Boxer (Dem.-CA) and Robert Menendez (Dem.-New Jersey) had no choice but to place a hold on Bryza’s nomination, effectively blocking his confirmation. Obama then compounded his error by appointing Bryza as Ambassador to Azerbaijan in late 2010 without Senate approval. The President seemed oblivious to the potential damage to his own reputation, the prestige of the United States, and US-Azeri relations, should the Senate not confirm Bryza’s nomination forcing him to leave his post and return to Washington upon expiration of his 12-month appointment.
Bryza’s temporary assignment was ending in December 2011 and Obama administration officials pressured Senators Boxer and Menendez to allow him to continue serving in Azerbaijan by confirming his nomination. The two Senators remained steadfast in opposing Bryza even though it is not easy for these Democratic politicians to turn down a request from the President of the United States who also happens to be the nominal leader of their own party.
The Senators were also pressured by the government of Azerbaijan and its powerful lobbying firms which went into overdrive to justify their exorbitant fees. Through their special connections they were able to get the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post to publish editorials attacking the Senators and the Armenian National Committee of America which had spearheaded a public campaign against this unqualified Ambassadorial nominee.
Not surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal heaped lavish praise on Bryza, calling him a “respected career foreign service officer,” and accused the two Senators of “kissing up to the Armenian-American lobby.” The Washington Post was even nastier. Its editorial could be described as outright racist and anti-Armenian. Contrary to its claim of defending “the larger U.S. national interest,” the newspaper was actually advocating the confirmation of an Ambassador with questionable credentials who would weaken, rather than strengthen America’s interests.
The Washington Post concluded its shameful editorial by accusing “oil-poor” and “isolated” Armenia as being the biggest "LOSER" in the Bryza controversy.
Of course we here at HellasFrappe disagree. This is an American issue and Armenia had no role in it. In fact, the biggest losers are those who lobbied long and hard for the confirmation of an ill-qualified Ambassador who was more intent on serving the interests of Baku in Washington than those of America in Azerbaijan.
Background of Richard Mornigstar & His Involvment in Greece & Cyprus' Energy Designs
Bryza was replaced by Richard Morningstar as ambassador to Azerbaijan. Yes, the same man who has said that in order for Greece to be permitted to exploit its hydrocarbon deposits it has to share half of its wealth with Turkey.
Richard L. Morningstar was sworn in on June 20, 1999, as US Ambassador to the European Union. His nomination, announced by President Bill Clinton on April 21, 1999, was confirmed by the US Senate on June 17. Since July 1998, Ambassador Morningstar had been Special Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy. Ambassador Morningstar was responsible for assuring maximum coordination within the Executive Branch of US policy and programs relating to the development of oil and gas resources in the Caspian Basin. Development of the Caspian and open commercial access to its energy resources are key priorities of the Administration.
In July 2011 HellasFrappe featured an article titled "SPECIAL REPORT– Hillary came to Greece to seal oil exploration deals!". In this article we revealed how Hillary Clinton came to Greece with Morningstar as well as several other key figures in order to seal the oil deals!
Before leaving Greece, Morningstar held talks with Mr. Spyros Kouvelis who was the then Deputy Foreign Minister (under the George Papandreou government). A statement from the Greek Foreign Ministry had said at the time that the meeting focused on issues concerning recent developments in the energy sector in the wider region of Southeast Europe and Central Asia, as well as investment prospects in the region.
More specifically, there was an analysis of the energy planning of Greece and the country’s emergence as a regional energy hub, while emphasis was put on the need for immediate promotion of the ITGI pipeline. Mr. Morningstar showed particular interest in diversification of natural gas supply sources, and in this context there was reference to the development of the Astakos energy centre in cooperation with Qatar, the statement concluded.
The meeting between Greek and American officials and the innovative proposal of Morningstar came a month after the STRATFOR report on Greece. There the Texas based Global Intelligence Institute reduced Greece into a status of a “LOSER” and urged Athens indirectly to cooperate with Turkey on the Aegean natural resources.
In the same month, Turkey sailed two seismic survey ships or the Piri Reis and the Cesme in the Northern Aegean and in the East Mediterranean. This prompted Greek diplomats to issue protest notes and complain to Turkey ‘for violating Greece's continental shelf”. But this did not stop the Piri Reis which continued to conduct seismic surveys until August 20, 2010.
Of interest as well is an interview of Morningstar that was featured in the Greek daily KATHIMERINI at the end of July in 2011. At the time, he said that:
“US State Department’s Special Envoy for Eurasia and Energy Richard Morningstar proposes trade agreements between Greece and Turkey and pooling of oil and natural gas reserves located in the Aegean Sea. The pooling can happen even if the two countries have not previously resolved their differences, says Morningstar.In March 2012, Hellasfrappe featured an article titled "SPECIAL REPORT - US Supports Turkey In Energy Game, Greek-Cyprus-Israeli Agreement Not Signed". In this article we Morningstar sent a clear message to all the countries in the Eastern Mediterranean "to settle their differences" so that they can play a role in the emerging energy map of the area.
Morningstar basically rallied in favor of Turkey at the time by noting that he is vindicating the positions of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots on the Cyprus issue. And what is more he also underlined that the issue of natural gas and new energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean are above and beyond the power of the countries which are directly involved (Cyprus, Israel and Greece). Essentially, what he meant -or rather the message that he was trying to get across- was that the three countries have a very valuable and significant commodity that is needed by the global community, and therefore cannot be managed by themselves!
In August 2012 HellasFrappe featured an article titled "EXPOSED - The US Plan For Greece - Energy, Euro, "Bridge" to The War In Middle East". In this article we analyzed a story from Seeking Alpha which said that:
"To resolve matters with Turkey, there is a proposal by both Clintons' operative Richard Morningstar to form an oil revenues deal offering Greece 20%, Turkey 20% and the US-backed Noble Energy (NBL) of Houston (the company drilling in Greek and Israeli offshore waters) the lion's share of 60%.In September 2012 HellasFrappe featured a suspicious article titled "Race to tap fuel is on, adding profit motive to island’s political tension" by James Kanter in The International Herald Tribune (Date: August 31, 2012) sides with Richard L. Morningstar's views on how Cyprus' natural reserves should be pooled.
This has upped the prospect for a geopolitical gambit by the U.S. that has several objectives:
"1 - To gain influence on Aegean Sea as well the Levantine oil and gas assets, and to establish a Greek Corridor of influence between Cyprus, Israel and Greece. The area off Israel and Cyprus has been the site of new oil and gas discoveries. Cyprus, too, is an insolvent EU basket case. This article from Oil Price.com discusses the "pipeline battle" between Russian and U.S. interests.
The article then says that with recent confirmation of oil in the Greek Aegean and off Israel, the U.S. has stepped up its game. "The strategy is to offer Greece and Cyprus carrots. After all, it's the European Troika that is the hardball creditor, not the U.S. In fact, by offering Greece "almost unqualified support in the event of a return to the drachma," the U.S. is betting on the strong likelihood of Greece becoming formally insolvent before any more bailout monies are available from Berlin-am-Brussels."
2 - The Greek corridor can be used to transport aid to the Theatre of Operations in the Middle East. This vital corridor cannot and should not be allowed to be checked by Turkey, as it will then be vulnerable to any intervention. PPC Quantum Energy SA formally announced the launch of a 2,000-megawatt undersea electricity cable to link up the electricity grids of Israel, Cyprus and Greece. Also, Israel has a deal with Greek Cyprus and Greece to build a gas pipeline through Cypriot waters to Greece, leaving Turkey out. The U.S. enters the equation because of the offshore Levantine discoveries in the area made by Noble Energy, for which Bill Clinton is a key lobbyist. Security for Israel's new resources will also be paramount.
IMF and EU government officials, some of them German, are pressuring Greece to sell its valuable ports and public energy companies, such as the country's oil companies, in order to reduce the country's debt. The assets would only bring the country perhaps €50 billion at best. Plans call for the Greek state-owned natural gas company, DEPA, to privatize 65% of its shares to reduce debt. The Russian firm Gazprom has shown an interest, something the U.S. strongly opposes. Buyers would likely come from outside the country, as few Greek companies are in a position, in the current crisis, to take it.
The US has other energy and security plans for Greece and Cyprus and seeing those countries crippled by overwhelming debt, reduced to begging from the EU, and doing fire sales to Europeans and Russians does fit into the plan."
The article shockingly said that "American company, Noble Energy, based in Houston, is leading the drilling in Cypriot waters, along with Israeli partners, giving both the United States and Israel huge stakes in the find. They are working with Greek Cypriot leaders, many of whom regard the undersea area as theirs to exploit as they please, at least for now."
(Kind of makes you want to swallow a few sedatives doesn't it? THE NATURAL RESERVES BELONG TO CYPRUS YOU BLOKE!)
He continues by writing that "Turkey has threatened to send its navy. To underscore its displeasure, in recent months Turkey has erected a large oil and gas exploration rig above Sinirustu, a village near the coast of occupied area of Cyprus, and festooned it with flags. Even before any gas has been tapped, the discoveries have created ''risks, big risks, as well as a myriad of legal issues". The issues ''go beyond Cyprus, they go beyond Israel, they go beyond Greece - they affect the whole region.''
The only thing he did not say is that only the US can manage these natural resources not Cyprus, not Greece, not Israel... only the West can (or rather has the right to)!
Conclusion
Draw your own conclusions, but clearly there are some hotheads in Washington that do not want Greece or Cyprus to ever develop their energy reserves, nor do they want our countries to ever pull their heads out of the water. Clearly they are promoting Turkey as the "regulator" of the region.
One may ask: Why should people around the world be concerned about a conflict between three nations in the Aegean? It is simple. This can have a negative impact on the stability of the entire region.
By utilising its economic and military strength, Turkey is seeking a strategic role as a strong regional power in the region and promotes its monopoly interests in the Balkans, Caucasus, in the Black sea, in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East, in the framework of extracting the largest possible share of the natural resources and markets of the wider region, utilising in addition religious sentiments. Sometimes it presents itself as an alleged “protector of the Palestinians”, but at the same time supports the Turkish occupation of 37% of Cyprus. Ankara talks about zero problems in the region, but it continues its provocations and threats against Greece and Cyprus against the sovereign rights of each nation. And let us not even analyze its involvement in the Syrian crisis.
Our opinion of course is that all these hotheads, whether they are based in Washington, Brussels, or even in Ankara are playing a terrible game against the Greek and Cypriot people, and this is kind of frightening us here at HellasFrappe because the Greek community in all these countries -especially in the United States is one of the wealthiest minorities and most influential-. We wonder if they are aware of what is really going on in Greece, and what efforts have been taken to state Greece's position. How are Turkish lobbyists influencing specific US politicians to vote in favor of something so undemocratic and unjust? Also, are there Greek and Cypriot voices that are working with these interests? And if yes, then who are these people so that we can know and signal them out.
Greece and Cyprus have been oppressed far too long and need to stand on their own feet without the clouds of the Ottoman Empire hanging over their heads. Our people have experienced enough sorrow and hardships because of foreign interests on our lands and we only want peace and stability in our region.
Our countries are friendly nations that only want to be on the best of terms with all nations, especially the US. If the US, Russia and some buffoons in Brussels are at an odds end about the subject of energy then someone should lock them up in a room and not allow them to come out until they reach some sort of consensus. Why play out their super-power games on the backs of Greeks and Cypriots?
We have the right as democratic nations to develop our own reserves and this cannot be debated.
It is now or never.
Signed
Marina Spanos
References
SPECIAL REPORT– Hillary came to Greece to seal oil exploration deals! - http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/07/special-report-hillary-came-to-greece.html
SPECIAL REPORT - Classified documents reveal US energy coup & Papandreou's retreat on FYROM - http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2011/10/special-report-classified-documents.html
SPECIAL REPORT - The End To A Tale Of Sex, Marriage, Natural Gas And Oil Pipelines - http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/06/special-report-end-to-tale-of-sex.html
Direct Intervention of US On Privatisation of DEPA-DESFA - They Must Not Fall Into Russian hands! - http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2013/01/direct-intervention-of-us-on.html
SPECIAL REPORT - US Supports Turkey In Energy Game, Greek-Cyprus-Israeli Agreement Not Signed - http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/03/special-report-us-supports-turkey-in.html
EXPOSED - The US Plan For Greece - Energy, Euro, "Bridge" to The War In Middle East - http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/08/exposed-us-plan-for-greece-energy-euro.html
SPECIAL REPORT - Extortion On Cyprus' Natural Reserves: - Co-Management Or Possible Confrontation? - http://hellasfrappe.blogspot.com/2012/09/special-report-extortion-on-cyprus.html
defencenet - http://www.defencenet.gr/defence/item/%CE%B7%CF%80%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%BF-%CF%86
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