Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday that although preparatory work on the Turkish Stream project, which was aiming to deliver Russian natural gas to Europe via the Turkish-Greek border, has been suspended for now, resumption of negotiations was not out of the question, Interfax agency reported, according to a news report published by Reuters.
Novak reportedly said, "Realization of the Turkish Stream Project depends on the EU's land infrastructure construction." The Russian minister added that Russia is ready to increase the volume of natural gas transported to Turkey.
The Turkish Stream project would see four pipelines carrying Russian natural gas under the Black Sea, linking southern Russia to western Turkey, which would allow Russia to deliver gas to Europe while bypassing Ukraine.
Many media outlets had previously claimed that disagreements and political tensions between Turkey and Russia had led to the latter halt the project, but President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later on refuted these claims saying that it was in fact Turkey who suspended the project.
He said that the project was laid aside a while ago even before the Russian warplane's downing by Turkey since the Russian side did not meet Turkey's demands regarding certain specific issues pertaining to the project.
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