Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Russia has no guarantee that European countries will agree to implement the Turkish Stream gas pipeline construction project, said Ali Riza Alaboyun, Turkish minister of energy and natural resources, according to Turkish Yenisafak newspaper on Nov. 17.
"Turkey, in principle, has a positive attitude toward the Turkish Stream project, but Russia must not rush its implementation," the minister stated.
Russia shouldn't expect early execution of the project to construct the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, Alaboyun had noted earlier.
Alaboyun added that the project can't be realized within 9-10 months.
He also pointed out that negotiations on the construction of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline had been underway for three and a half years.
He also noted that after the recent parliamentary election in Turkey, Moscow hasn't officially informed Ankara that it is ready to continue discussions on the 'Turkish Stream'.
"We learned about it [Russia's willingness to continue talks] from the media," said Alaboyun, noting that along with the economic aspects, there are also political aspects of the 'Turkish Stream'.
Earlier, a source in Turkish presidential administration told Trend that Ankara isn't in a hurry to implement the 'Turkish Stream' project, as currently it has more important priorities.
Earlier, Alaboyun said in an exclusive interview with Trend that the issue regarding the necessity of implementing the 'Turkish Stream' will be cleared up soon.
Talks between Ankara and Moscow on realization of the 'Turkish Stream' have been brought to a halt.
Earlier, on Nov. 12, Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Moscow stands ready to continue at any time the discussions on the intergovernmental agreement with Turkey on the 'Turkish Stream'.
"We are ready to continue the discussions," he told reporters. "We expect our Turkish partners to form a government and the parties who will hold talks with us on the intergovernmental agreement."
The Russian minister also recalled that, under laws, a government is to be formed in Turkey within a period of 45 days.
The 'Turkish Stream' project envisages construction of a gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey through the Black Sea. It was supposed that the pipeline will consist of four branches with the capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas each.
The gas to be delivered via the first branch is meant completely for the Turkish market, while the rest of the volume will be delivered to the Turkish-Greek border, where it is planned to create a gas hub.
It was also planned to start the pipeline's construction in June, however, the issue is still under discussion.
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