ANKARA
TurkStream Natural Gas Project is a beautiful symbol of our foreign policy and win-win approach, in which we suggest that energy should not be a cause of conflict in international relations but a unifying instrument for peace, said Turkey’s President Erdogan on Friday.
President Erdogan spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was reviewing the Pioneering Spirit vessel that will undertake the construction in Russia's Anapa city, on the northern coast of the Black Sea.
Construction works for TurkStream's offshore section began in the deep waters of the Black Sea, according to Gazprom's statement released Friday.
“Russia is an important energy actor in the region with its extensive natural gas resources and strong infrastructure. At the same time, Russia is a reliable and stable partner of our country in the field of energy,” Erdogan said.
With large-scale projects such as Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and TurkStream, we hope to develop our friendship, he added.
Praising the project, Erdogan said, “These kinds of large energy projects have an exceptional place in establishing interdependence in terms of our economic and political bilateral relations.”
Energy projects between Turkey and Russia, especially natural gas projects, have been an important and reliable part of the energy supply security for nearly 30 years, he added.
TurkStream will ensure that the Russian natural gas is transmitted directly to Turkey without being dependent on the transmission system of any other country, Erdogan said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the cooperation of both countries.
He pointed out that the business cooperation between Turkey and Russia is above the level of business association conducted with many other countries.
Putin emphasized that “the coordination process with other countries took years, but with Turkey it has quickly resolved within a short period of time.”
“The intergovernmental agreement on TurkStream Project was signed 7 months ago. Construction began on the project within a few months,” he said.
The first line will be completed within the scope of the project next year and the second line will be completed in 2019, Putin informed.
