Azerbaijan, Baku, March 28 / Trend A. Badalova /
Italian Eni company is confident that it can reach an agreement with Turkey soon and resume good relations with the country.
"We think we can reach an agreement and return to our usual good relations soon," Eni told Trend on Thursday.
Turkish media reported with the reference to Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz that the country stopped working with Eni because of the company's partnership with Cyprus in the field of hydrocarbon exploration in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.
"Turkey has decided to freeze all Eni company's projects in the country and stop cooperation," Yildiz said.
According to the minister, in particular, the company will be excluded from participation in the construction of the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline in which Eni cooperates with Turkey's Çalık Holding. "The Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline project is important for Turkey, but the country's political principles are above all" Yildiz said, added that Turkey may freeze the project if Çalık Holding is unable to find another partner besides Eni.
The Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline is planned to be constructed in Turkey between the Black Sea coast in the region of Samsun and the Mediterranean coast in Ceyhan. It will enable the transportation of crude oil from Russia and Kazakhstan bypassing the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.
Earlier Ankara repeatedly warned Eni over the possibility of stopping cooperation with it if it does not put a hold on the work with Cyprus in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.
Ankara believes that holding such operations in a special economic zone is contrary to international law.
After Nicosia started developing the shelf off the coast of the island divided into Greek and Turkish sectors in September 2011, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara along with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will begin exploring oil and gas in a special economic zone of Northern Cyprus.
Turkey has repeatedly expressed its categorical protest against such operations, demanding the cancellation of plans to develop hydrocarbons by Cyprus.
Ankara does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, maintaining relations only with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. A corps of Turkish troops has been there since 1974.
