- Turkey-Russia agree on Turkish Stream
The signing of the intergovernmental agreement for the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project between Turkey and Russia, was among the most discussed topics of the global agenda last week.
Turkish and Russian presidents met in Turkey last week, where they announced that the project, which was first announced in 2014, was now officially being implemented.
The agreement involves the construction of two lines of gas pipelines through the Black Sea each with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters. One line is planned to supply gas directly to the Turkish market, while the other line aims to supply gas to Europe through Turkey.
Negotiations over the pipeline were halted after Turkey shot down a Russian jet over the Turkey-Syria border in November last year, but have since resumed.
Last month, Gazprom said construction could start by the end of 2017 if an intergovernmental agreement was signed in October, with the goal of completing the pipeline by 2019.
During his visit last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin also announced that they were lifting restrictions on some Turkish food products, which were enforced after the jet crisis in late November last year.
The head of Russian Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina also stressed last week that the bank hopes inflation in Russia would lower amid the lifting of restrictions on Turkish products.
- Rosneft becomes new boss of Bashneft
An important development in the Russian oil sector was Russian oil giant Rosneft’s purchase of Russian oil company Bashneft.
According to a statement last week, Rosneft purchased 50.08 percent of a stake in Bashneft for $5.2 billion, making it the controlling partner of the company.
However, the purchase has been also criticized in Russia, as controlling stakes in both companies are owned by the Russian government.