Tsipras: ‘Turkish Stream’ will have another name on Greek territory

MOSCOW

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras speaks at a joint press conference with Russian President after a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 8, 2015. AFP Photo

During a press conference with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on April 8, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras expressed his country’s will to play a big role in the Turkish Stream pipeline project aiming to boost investments in the cash-strapped economy, as reported by EurActiv Greece. 

Putin and Tsipras agreed that Greece could play a big role in the Turkish Stream pipeline project, making it a hub between Turkey and the European gas market.

“The new route will provide for Europeans’ fuel needs, and would allow Greece to become one of the main power distribution centers on the continent, and could help attract significant investment into the Greek economy,” Putin said during the joint news conference with Tsipras.

“Our pipelines will receive gas from the Turkish border, and will provide energy security for both Greece and the European market,” Tsipras noted, adding that the Russian project will boost jobs and growth in the debt-ridden country.

Talking about the Greek branch of Turkish Stream during the press conference, the Russian President referred to the “Turkish Stream” pipeline in the Greek territory prompting the reaction of the Greek PM.
“We have to make it clear [...] there will not be any Turkish Stream in the Greek territory but a Greek pipeline,” clarified Tsipras, with Putin silently admitting his slip of a tongue by knocking his head.

Later, Tsipras said: “We cannot accept the “Turkish Stream” name, but we consider that the project would improve our relations with Turkey.”

On April 7, foreign ministers from Greece, Hungary, Serbia, Turkey and Macedonia signed a declaration of intent regarding the Turkish Stream project, in Budapest.

Bypassing Kyiv, and punishing Sofia for having obstructed the construction of scrapped South Stream, the new Turkish Stream pipeline will travel across the Black Sea to the Turkish city of Ipsala, close to the Greek-Turkish border. Its aim is to deliver 47 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Central Europe and the Balkans.