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Russia’s State Duma approves Turkey pipeline
January 20, 2017, 2:09 pm

The Turkish Stream project was revived after a rapprochement between Presidents Erdogan and Putin in October [Xinhua]


Russia’s Lower House of Parliament, or State Duma, on Friday approved the ratification of an agreement on a pipeline to deliver Russian natural gas to Turkey and European markets through the Black Sea.

The Turkish Stream Project, as the pipeline plan has come to be called, was put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014 but delayed after a tense rift between Ankara and Moscow over the downing of a Russian SU-24 by Turkish fighters in 2015.

The Turkish Stream Project was revived in June 2016 when the two countries buried their differences and moved significantly closer over geopolitical issues, namely Syria.

The 30-year project, which travels 910 kilometers – 180 of which is through Turkish territory, was ratified by the Turkish parliament in October 2016. The pipeline replaces one initially planned through the Balkan nations but later scrapped due to the conflict in the Ukraine.

By constitutional law, the ratification of the agreement will now be sent to the Federation Council, Russia’s upper chamber of the parliament, for a plenary session vote on February 1.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies