LETTER FROM ANKARA: AUGUST 2008

摘要

US not factor in Turkey-Iran gas dealnTo the causal observer August’s visit to Turkey by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might havenappeared something of an uncomfortable accommodation, finishing with an uneasy departure with the mainnbusiness – a long planned gas deal between Turkey and Iran – left unsigned. More pointedly, some reports wentnso far as to describe the lack of a deal as a deliberate snub by Ankara prompted by US pressure on it’s ally notnto do business with Tehran. However, the real explanation of events, while not as immediately newsworthy, is nonless interesting, highlighting as it does both a refreshing lack of political intrigue and an altogethernunderstandable focus on commercial self-interest in Ankara’s dealings with Tehran.