Novak: Implementation of Turkish Stream threads depends on EU's need for gas

Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the Russian Federation is about to sign an intergovernmental agreement with Turkey on only one thread of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.

According to him, the prospect of construction of the remaining threads will depend on the demand for gas in southeastern Europe. The Minister said that at the bilateral talks held yesterday in Vienna with the European Commission Vice-President, Maroš Šefčovič, they discussed the topic of implementation of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.

"We also spoke about the construction of a hub on Greek territory, transit of the gas pipeline construction to the territory of Greece. We have informed our colleagues about the status of implementation of the project and that now we are in the process of discussing an intergovernmental agreement, which is legally binding the parties to implement this project. As of today, we are considering options, including the construction of several threads," he said.

In addition, Novak explained that the intergovernmental agreement will primarily relate to the first thread of the gas pipeline. "This is the start of construction of Turkish Stream for Turkish consumers. The following threads will already be implemented, taking into account the needs of the southeastern part of Europe," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

According to Novak, the European Commission informed the Russian side about the work of the commission on studying this project. He stressed that today there are various options for continuing the pipeline to Europe – either the use of the existing infrastructure in the south-eastern part of Europe, somewhere it will be required to build interconnectors, somewhere – to implement the construction of backbone networks. "At the moment, the European Commission is working on it. A high-level group headed by the Deputy Chairman of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič is working. It is engaged in development of various schemes of construction and expansion of infrastructure in Europe for the benefit, including gas, which will come from the Turkish Stream," the Minister of Energy concluded.