Turkish Stream ‘not mature’ yet: Minister

“As the project has involved the issues of the exclusive economic zone, we need to take the required permissions from our Foreign Ministry. Representatives from our ministry of foreign affairs told me that they had not taken the required documents from the Russian side. These procedures need to be completed. If they are completed by the end of June, we’ll talk about the final details,” Yıldız said at a meeting on June 10, as quoted by Anadolu Agency. 

“The Turkish Stream project has not matured enough, but we want to realize the project,” he added. 

After the determination of the coordinates, the process will speed up, he added.  

The Russian side has, however, given more solid announcements regarding the project. Russia’s Gazprom announced on June 9 that the intergovernmental agreement for the construction of the Turkish Stream, which will transfer Russian natural gas to Europe via Turkey, would be signed at the end of this month.

Gazprom Vice Chairman of the Board Alexander Medvedev said in a press conference that the first phase of the Turkish Stream project would cost 3.3 billion euros, as quoted by several media outlets in Russia. 

The heads of Gazprom and Italy’s ENI met in Milan on June 9, as reported by Reuters, to discuss Gazprom’s plan for the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream pipelines across the Black Sea. The Italian energy giant had a 20 percent stake in the South Stream project until it was ditched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2014 and replaced by the Turkish Stream. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart will meet in Azerbaijan to attend the opening ceremony of the first European Games on June 13, said Yıldız, adding he and his Russian counterpart, Alexander Novak, will hold consultations for the leaders in Baku.