South Stream Gets the Go Ahead From Turkey

Turkey and Russia have today reached an agreement on the construction of the Turkish portion of the South Stream pipeline, Gazprom has announced today.

CEO of Gazprom Alexey Miller hailed the agreement reached with Turkey as a sign of serious progress on the pipeline, saying it showed that the pipeline would be constructed on time.

"I would like to express special gratitude to our Turkish friends for the constructive efforts and understanding, especially for prompt examination of all issues during the last days of the outgoing year," he said in a statement today. "I would like to congratulate all the South Stream project participants and our partners on obtaining the construction permit. It is a very nice present for the New Year."

The agreement grants all necessary permits, allowing for the "unhampered execution of the project for construction and operation of the South Stream gas pipeline running from Russia via the exclusive economic zone of Turkey," Gazprom said.

Meanwhile, Gazprom has also said that it will not abandon the South Stream pipeline, regardless of the outcome of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. The pipeline will proceed as planned, head of exports and deputy chairman of the company's management committee, Alexandar Medvedev has said.

His comments come days after Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said that the outcome of South Stream would depend on Ukraine.

"South Stream has always been linked to Ukraine," Alexey Miller said last Friday. 

Mr. Medvedev said that, even with all pipelines constructed, there would be a shortfall of supply to Europe.

"Even if we take into account the Nord Stream, the South Stream, Nabucco and liquefied natural gas, all the same, the shortage of gas supplies to Europe will be some 15-20 billion cubic meters," Russian paper RIA Novosti reports him as saying today.