Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have used this weekend’s G20 summit in Antalya to reopen the dialogue over the Turkish Stream project that had stalled over the summer. The two sides have agreed to resume discussions once Erdogan has finalised his Cabinet in the wake of this month’s elections. Gazprom chief Alexey Miller was also present at part of the meeting.
Initially conceived as an alternative to the aborted South Stream line through Bulgaria, the Turkish Stream project envisages construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey under the Black Sea. It was initially meant to consist of four branches, each with a capacity of 15.75bm m³, but the scale of the project is now in doubt, partly because of a dispute over price, and partly because Russia is now also in the process of laying a second pipeline to Europe – Nord Stream 2, along the bed of the Baltic Sea.
Putin and Erdogan agree to reopen Turkish Stream talks
Putin and Erdogan at G20 summit, Antalya
Source: TREND