Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 15
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The fact that Gazprom has postponed commissioning of the Turkish Stream to late 2016 does not mean an early start of this project.
On Sept.14, deputy chairman of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said that the commissioning of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, originally scheduled for late 2016, is postponed to a later date.
At the same time, Medvedev didn't mention the exact date of commissioning of the pipeline and the main reason for the delay in implementing the project.
Earlier, the Russian authorities said that Moscow would resume negotiations with Turkey on the construction of the "Turkish Stream" after the parliamentary election to be held in Turkey November 1, 2015.
But namely Russia is the main reason for the delay in the implementation of this project, and there are a number of reasons for that.
The main reason is that Ankara and Moscow cannot agree on the establishment of a joint gas distribution network.
Earlier, in an interview with the Turkish media, Turkish former Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said that the Turkish Stream construction was mainly delayed because of the Russian side.
He also said that Turkey hopes for Russia's agreement on the issue of establishing a joint gas distribution network.
Turkey has been conducting an active energy policy for the past 12 years. Turkey has no problems with the postponement of the Turkish Stream construction.
Today Ankara has achieved its goal and become an energy hub in the region without the Turkish Stream.
A lot of energy projects are being implemented in Turkey today. One of them is TANAP. Currently, it has a special significance for Ankara.
Moreover, Turkish Botas has a 30-percent stake in TANAP as opposed to the Turkish Stream.
Moreover, Turkey's share in TANAP is expected to increase up to 37 percent.
Taking this into account, one can say that TANAP importance for Turkey continues growing, as opposed to the Turkish Stream.
Edited by CN
---
Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
