Turkish president signs bill to ratify Turkish Stream deal

The Russian-Turkish agreement on the Turkish stream gas pipeline project entered force on Dec. 6 after being signed by the Turkish president and published in the government’s official Resmi Gazete.

The move, which comes amid the Turkish prime minister’s visit to Moscow, paves the way for practical implementation of the agreement.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim mentioned the deal before heading to Moscow.

"As you know, during last week’s session our parliament ratified the agreement to implement the Turkish Stream project. We now expect the (State) Duma to do the same," he said.

Finally, a green light for Russia’s Turkish Stream gas pipeline

The Russian authorities announced the Turkish Stream in December 2014 to replace the South Stream gas pipeline project. It was planned that the offshore section of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline would comprise four stretches with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters each.

However, the negotiations on the project were subsequently suspended, including due to the crisis in bilateral relations. After talks held between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg in August 2016, a decision was made to resume the project, set up a working group and prepare a roadmap.

Source: TASS