Turkish President Recip Erdogan has paved the way for construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline to begin after officially ratifying the Russian-Turkish accord concerning a new natural gas pipeline running from Krasnodar in southern Russia, along the bed of the Black Sea to Turkish Thrace. The announcement was published in the government’s official Resmi Gazete and was confirmed by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as he prepared to head to Moscow on an official two-day visit.
The new pipeline will both help ease Turkish worries over its energy security and could also generate Ankara additional revenue in transit fees; but the ratification of the agreement is also a symbol of the improvement of relations between the two countries that were severely tested when a Russian jet was shot down near the Turkish-Syrian border in November last year.
Yildrim is travelling to Moscow on the invitation of his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and as well as the pipeline, the two men are expected to discuss the economy, the reduction of the price of natural gas exports to Turkey, the lifting of the ban on the import of some agricultural goods,visa-free travel and the use of local currency in trade between the two countries.
Erdogan rubber-stamps Turkish Stream
Source: Vedomosti