Russia Expects Prompt Restart of Talks on Turkish Stream Gas Pipeline

Moscow hopes negotiations on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline will be resumed as soon as possible, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Work on the Turkish Stream pipeline was scheduled to begin in June, with a launch set for December 2016. Russian and Turkish governments have yet to sign a formal agreement.

Deputy Chairman of Russian energy giant Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said Monday the delay pushed the launch date back again.

"We expect a full, consistent and timely fulfillment of all agreements on construction and exploitation of the first Turkish Stream string. We expect a prompt restart of negotiations, including on the inter-governmental draft agreement, which was submitted to the Turkish side for approval in May," the ministry said in a statement.

Implementation of the gas pipeline is a priority in Russian-Turkish relations, the ministry stressed.

The statement came ahead of a bilateral meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Feridun Sinirlioglu in the Russian southwestern city of Sochi on Thursday.

Earlier in September, the Russian Energy Ministry said it expected an intergovernmental deal on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline to be signed after a new government is formed in Turkey in November.

The Turkish Stream is a proposed pipeline with an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters running from Russia to Turkey beneath the Black Sea. The pipeline will continue to a hub on the Turkish-Greek border, from where it can be extended to southern Europe.