Alexei Miller, CEO of the Russian state-owned natural gas giant Gazprom, said that the first shipment of natural gas via the new pipeline which Russia is going to build is planned for December 2016. Miller stated that Turkey and Russia have come to a mutual understanding and have signed an agreement for the project in the second quarter of this year. Last year, Russia scrapped the South Stream pipeline project to supply gas to southern Europe via Bulgaria because of objections from the European Union, and instead announced it would build a new pipeline that would carry 63 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Turkey without crossing Ukraine. According to the plan, the E.U. is going to receive Russian natural gas by building a new pipeline that will extend to the Turkish-Greek border. Although it has not been made official yet, Russian officials named the new pipeline the "Turkish Stream." Miller and Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız met in Ankara on Tuesday and decided on the route of the new pipeline considering the preliminary results of the feasibility studies. The new pipeline across the Black Sea would have an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters of gas. "We have agreed with the Russian delegation in principle that we will move on to take more solid steps toward the new gas route through Turkey, instead of having non-binding agreements," Yıldız said.Yıldız: Gas price talks with Russia promising Speaking to Turkish television network NTV, Minister Yıldız said that the two previous meetings, during which natural gas prices were discussed, were not successful, but that the ongoing negotiations with Russian gas company Gazprom's top official Alexey Miller, looked promising. "With the oil price slump, natural gas prices are falling as well. This affects gas producing countries, like Russia, negatively, and puts a strain on the ongoing negotiations too," he added. Yıldız said that the current gas prices are at November 2008 rates, despite the rise in value of the U.S. dollar. Natural gas prices are mostly indexed to crude oil prices. Since gas contracts are renewed every six months, prices for new gas contracts are determined by past prices of crude oil.