Sputnik: Turkey Should Not Allow Politics to Stand in Way of Becoming Major Gas Hub

The Moscow-spearheaded project of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline is expected to turn Turkey into a regional energy hub.

Moscow is Ankara’s biggest partner in the energy sector, with nearly 70 percent of natural gas coming to Turkey from Russia. Turkey also buys large amount of Russian-produced crude oil and mazut.

Initially, the Turkish Stream was planned to transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of gas a year. A part of the pipeline with a capability of 15.75 cubic meters was expected to replace the Western Route which currently carries Russian gas via Ukraine. The rest of the pipeline was planned to transport gas to Europe via Turkey and Greece.

However, ahead of the Turkish general election on June 7 the talks on the Turkish Stream slowed down, and then – after the election – they were suspended. MORE