Hurriyet: Turkey seems reluctant on Turkish Stream deal with Russia

It has been more than five months since Turkey and Russia announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to build a new pipeline called the Turkish Stream, which would supply natural gas to some southern European countries after Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled the South Stream project in reaction to the European Union. 

Turkey’s initial agreement with Russia for this pipeline was a surprise and even a disappointment for many in the West, as it came only months after Moscow annexed Crimea and changed the borders of Europe by force. Turkey had announced that it wouldn’t join in imposing sanctions on Russia, although it denounced the annexation of Crimea, and agreed to negotiate with its northern partner for the pipeline. 

Turkish government officials continue to recall that what was signed on Dec. 1, 2014, was a memorandum of understanding and not a full agreement and therefore nothing has been finalized yet. Turkish and Russian energy officials have had talks in the aftermath of the December 2014 talks but no progress has been cited over the proposed pipeline. 

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