Letters

摘要

As you say, enabling Iran to supply gas to the European Union would be a good way to lessen the eu's dependence on Russian gas ("Rusty taps", April 4th). But the benefits stretch well beyond our energy needs. With a nuclear agreement with Iran now within reach, an opportunity beckons for the eu to remould its security environment. The key for such a strategy lies in Turkey. Following the scrapping of the South Stream project, Vladimir Putin now intends to build a new gas pipeline that would be routed through Turkey. This would give Ankara leverage with Moscow, but also with the eu. Bringing Iran into the equation helps put pressure on Ankara when necessary to make sure that gas continues to flow towards European shores. The result should be that gas supplies to Europe will become more stable, which even Russia should benefit from.