Turkish companies will participate in the construction of the surface portion of the Turkish stream gas pipeline, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Tuesday.
Moscow and Ankara are currently discussing construction of the pipeline’s first leg. After media reports in late July suggested that pipeline talks had been suspended due to a disagreement on price discounts, Turkish Ambassador to Russia Umit Yardim said that gas prices remained one of the key points in negotiations.
“Turkish companies will take part in the construction of the Turkish Stream in Thrace [the region on borders of Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey]. Russian colleagues know that we have solid experience in pipelines construction, as well as modern technologies. I hope, we will use it,” Yildiz told Anadolu news agency.
The Turkish Stream pipeline will run from Russia to Turkey underneath the Black Sea with an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters of gas. The pipeline will run to a hub on the Turkish-Greek border, from where it could be extended to southern Europe.
Yildiz underscored that Turkey was Russia’s second largest gas importer and a major trade partner.
Turkey will build the sections of the pipeline that run across its territory and receive a 10.25-percent discount on Russian gas purchases, the agency said. An inter-governmental agreement on the gas transit pipeline remains to be ratified by the Turkish parliament.