Russia’s Putin, Turkey’s Erdoğan to discuss Turkish Stream this autumn: Kremlin

MOSCOW - Reuters

CİHAN photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan this autumn and the two will discuss the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on July 31.

Turkey’s ambassador to Moscow told RIA news agency separately on July 31 that talks on the pipeline that would carry Russian gas to Europe via Turkey were ongoing.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak also said on July 31 that Moscow had agreed a 10.25 percent gas price discount for Turkey, adding that it was still in talks with Ankara on Turkish Stream, despite Turkish officials saying those talks had been suspended.

That came after Turkish officials told Reuters on July 30 the talks had been suspended after Moscow failed to sign off on a key gas price discount agreement.

“We have not received any official notifications or statements (from Turkey),” Novak told reporters when asked if the talks were suspended. “We continue to work.”

Novak said Russia’s gas giant Gazprom and Turkey’s BOTAŞ had agreed the 10.25 percent discount although they had still not signed the corresponding agreement.

Ankara said in February it obtained the discount on 28-30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas it buys from Russia and that it should have been enacted as of January 2015.