Turkey sends mixed messages on planned pipeline from Russia

Czech minister says it is unclear what Ankara’s intentions are. A Turkish official says the pipeline’s future hinges on the EU

Édition Énergie
Brian Beary
18 mai 2015 à 14h57

On a visit to Washington, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jan Mladek said that in recent meetings with Turkish officials “I have got confusing messages” about their commitment to the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project. Speaking at the Atlantic Council think tank on 14 May, Mladek noted that one Turkish official told him that a recently announced Moscow-Ankara agreement on the project was "only a memorandum," while another said "we will sign the contract within three months". “So, I'm not…

Pipeline politics

Turkish Stream is Russia's successor to South Stream, the project President Vladimir Putin ditched in December 2014 after concluding the EU would never let it proceed. While South Stream would have entered the EU in Bulgaria, Russia would like Turkish Stream to enter via Greece and is offering financial incentives to Athens to make this happen. This is raising concerns in the European Commission and the US administration, which say the pipeline, which could carry 63 bcm of gas a year, makes no economic sense. EU and US officials are mindful that Turkish Stream would compete with and potentially threaten their favoured project, the TANAP and TAP pipelines being built that will transport Caspian Sea gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.
par Brian Beary

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