Turkish Stream: Energizing the East-West Partnership

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin brought relations with Turkey back on track by meeting President Erdogan in Istanbul to sign a raft of ambitious energy and trade deals, including an agreement on the construction of a major gas pipeline which will give Russia more access to the European energy market.

The so-called Turkish Stream project is envisioned to pump gas to Anatolia but also further along to Southern Europe and the Balkans.

Originally the replacement for the scuttled South Stream project, Turkish Stream was indefinitely put on hold after the November 2015 downing of the Russian anti-terrorist jet over Syria, but it has since been revived as one of the potent geostrategic components of the Russian-Turkish rapprochement.

This is because it circumvents unreliable Ukraine and frees European energy supplies from ever again being held ransom again by the pro-American revolutionary clique in Kiev.

Andrew and Sergey are joined by Vladimir Sotnikov, a senior expert with the Global Security Center in Moscow (studio guest), Hasan Selim Ozertem, independent political analyst (Ankara), Oytun Orhan, researcher, Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (Ankara).

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