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Russia's State Duma may ratify Turkish Stream deal soon

20 December 2016 15:23 (UTC+04:00)
Russia's State Duma may ratify Turkish Stream deal soon

By Nigar Abbasova

The Russian State Duma may ratify an agreement on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline in the short run. Russia's lower house international affairs committee chair Leonid Slutsky said he expects the State Duma to ratify the Turkish Stream gas pipeline deal in January 2017, Ria Novosti reported.

“The agreement will be considered during the first spring session of the International Affairs Committee. The ratification of agreement is expected in January,” he said.

The Russian government earlier approved the draft bill on ratification of the agreement with Turkey and to send the document to the State Duma.

The Turkish parliament has already ratified a deal with Russia regarding the construction of the natural gas pipeline. The Grand National Assembly voted 210 in favor of the agreement, with only seven opposing and six abstentions.

The sides signed an intergovernmental agreement envisioning the construction of two underwater legs of the gas pipeline in the Black Sea on October 10, 2016, while the agreement served as an additional signal that the project could be brought into force.

The agreement envisages construction of two branches of the pipeline under the Black Sea, with the capacity of each branch being 15.75 bcm of gas. Pipe-laying work for the Turkish Stream is expected to begin in 2017 and end in late 2019.

The project was halted in late 2015 due to sharp deterioration of relations between Moscow and Ankara, when Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber with two pilots on board. Implementation of the project became topical following mending of ties between the two countries.

Being the second biggest consumer of Russian gas after Germany, Turkey currently imports gas from Russia via two pipelines - the Blue Stream, which passes under the eastern Black Sea, and the Western Line through the Balkans. Turkish Stream envisages supplies of the Russian gas under the Black Sea (bypassing Ukraine) to Turkey and further to Europe.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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