18/03/2015 10:34
Erdogan, Putin discuss 'Turkish Stream' gas project
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the "Turkish Stream" gas project during a phone call, Reuters report, citing the Kremlin.
Facing objections from the European Union, Russia in December abandoned its $40 billion South Stream project which would have passed under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and carried up to 63 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually to Europe.
It has now pinned its hopes on Turkey, hoping to construct a "Turkish Stream" pipeline with the same capacity to an as-yet unbuilt hub on the Turkey-Greece border by the end of 2016.
Turkish officials have said the plans are unlikely to progress as quickly as Russia would like, given Ankara's concerns about overdependence on Russian energy.
However, the Kremlin statement said on Tuesday that Putin and Erdogan discussed the project during a phone call, without giving further details.
Turkish presidential sources also told Reuters the two discussed developments in Ukraine, with Erdogan saying he plans to visit Ukraine this week.