Turkish Lawmakers Ratify Turkish Stream Gas Pipeline Deal With Russia

Turkish lawmakers ratified the agreement with Russia on the construction of the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported on Friday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — The Grand National Assembly of Turkey voted 210 in favor and seven against the Turkish Stream deal, with six abstentions.

The plenary vote took place after the legislature's foreign affairs committee endorsed the bill on Tuesday and before Prime Minister Binali Yildirim's visit to Russia scheduled for December 6-7.

On October 10, Moscow and Ankara signed an intergovernmental agreement envisioning the construction of two underwater legs of the gas pipeline in the Black Sea. The annual capacity of each leg is estimated to reach 15.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Pipe-laying work for the Turkish Stream is expected to begin in 2017 and end in late 2019.

The Turkish Stream project was announced in late 2014 by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his state visit to Turkey. In November 2015, the project was suspended after a Russian aircraft was downed by a Turkish fighter in Syria. A thaw in relations between Moscow and Ankara began last June following Turkey's apology to Russia.