Turkey is the biggest foreign buyer of Russian natural gas after Germany. Through the Russia-Turkey Blue Stream pipe under the Black Sea alone, it is receiving 16 billion cubic metres each year. Talks in Moscow Wednesday between its Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin produced agreements to intensify the Blue Stream flow and also the flow of Russian natural gas to Turkey through pipelines laid across Ukraine, Rumania and Bulgaria. Both updated supply contracts will stay in force for over 20 years. The Moscow talks also brought another important result, a green light for the planned South Stream pipeline linking Russia to Southeastern Europe to cross the Black Sea economic zone of Turkey.
According to Gazprom head Alexei Miller, groundbreaking on the South Stream project is already in sight:
“Turkey’s green light is a decision of milestone significance. It means that the South Stream pipe will be built as planned, before 2016. Late 2015 should see the first deliveries through the pipe.”
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