Turkish Stream pipeline project talks suspended

MOSCOW

Negotiations over the multi-billion dollar Turkish Stream pipeline project, which would have carried Russian natural gas to Europe through Turkey, have been suspended, Russian officials said Thursday.

Alexey Miller, chief executive officer of the Russian energy company, Gazprom, said that Turkey had not returned to Russia with a proposal about the project, adding that it was now waiting for an intergovernmental agreement between Ankara and Moscow.

"If Turkey wants to continue negotiations on the Turkish Stream project, it may apply to Russia but we did not receive any application from them," Miller said.

He said that Russia may take Turkey’s request into consideration if it came.

Miller also said that if Gazprom disrupted gas exports to Turkey, it would lose its reputation in Turkey. "We hope that there won't have to be a situation like this," he added.

He called Turkey's recent Liquefied Natural Gas deal with Qatar a political move to ease worries.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak also told Russian news agency Tass that the Turkish Stream project had been suspended.

The Russian-proposed Turkish Stream project was initially planned to carry 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia under the Black Sea to Turkey's Thrace region to reach Greece and further deliver gas to Europe.

However, in October this year, Russia's Gazprom announced that the capacity would be decreased to almost half the original amount to 32 billion cubic meters per year.

Following the downing of a Russian fighter jet after it had violated Turkish airspace despite multiple warnings from the Turkish military on Nov. 24, bilateral ties soured rapidly, kicking off Russian economic sanctions against Turkey.

Ankara responded strongly and said it could not be held responsible for defending its borders and airspace. Turkey also announced that the government was working on several possible economic retaliations against Moscow.

Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation and Qatar's national oil company signed a memorandum of understanding for long-term LNG trade on Wednesday, which was being interpreted by analysts as a counter measure to end dependence on Russian gas imports.