“We already had two meetings with our Russian partners over gas discounts. Unfortunately, we have not reached a consensus so far. We are planning another meeting next week,” Yildiz said at a press conference in Ankara.
The minister did not specify where the talks will take place, but expressed confidence that both parties will reach a compromise.
Turkey consumes 45 billion cubic meters of gas per year, of which the share of Russian gas is about 60 percent. Turkey receives Russian gas through the Blue Stream pipeline running under the Black Sea, as well as from a trans-Balkan pipeline bypassing Ukraine.
In late November 2014, Russia and Turkey confirmed their interest in boosting gas deliveries through the Blue Stream pipeline from 16 billion to 19 billion cubic meters annually.
On December 1, Gazprom and Turkish pipeline company Botas signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a Black Sea gas pipeline to Turkey with an annual capacity of 63 million cubic meters. According to Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller, a total of 14 billion cubic meters a year will be supplied to Turkey while the rest will be pumped to a hub on the Turkish-Greek border to be delivered to Gazprom's customers in southern Europe.
