Russia 'Ready to Sign Only Part of Turkish Stream Deal'

Russia is currently ready to sign only an agreement to build the first section of Turkish Stream, Russian news websites quote an Energy Ministry source as saying.

This comes after reports that Moscow has sent a draft intergovernmental agreement to Ankara on the construction of a pipeline set to replace the abandoned South Stream project.

Turkish Stream is envisaged to carry gas from Russia along the bed of the Black Sea, like South Stream, but with Turkey hosting the landfall instead of Bulgaria. It was announced in December 2014 by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who then cited the Bulgaria's reluctance to unblock construction permits for its own coastal area.

The cabinet source quoted by Vedomosti says that Turkey and Russia's heads of state have agreed on a phased implementation of Turkish Stream.

This means the gas delivered to Turkey through the first section (around 16 billion cubic meters) will be for domestic use, while the infrastructure that will deliver volumes for EU members will be arranged in a separate text.

Turkish Stream will have a maximum capacity of about 63 bcm, or roughly the same as the planned capacity for South Stream.

Earlier, Russia repeatedly warned Europe should prepare for a shift in gas transportation from Ukraine to Turkey, adding it would only use the latter as a transit country from 2019. However, reports from the last few weeks suggest Moscow might be abandoning the idea.