Turkish Stream project is needed to increase the opportunities for Balkan countries to receive Russian gas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, RIA Novosti reported.
"Together with the Turks, we are striving to increase the opportunities for the Balkan countries to receive Russian gas." We are already actively implementing the Turkish Stream project, "Lavrov said in an interview with the Serbian news agency BETA.
He also expressed readiness "to take any decisions (on Turkish Stream) taking into account the interests that Balkan countries have in the European Union."
Turkish Stream project involves the construction of a gas pipeline consisting of two threads with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters each. The first line is intended for gas supplies to Turkish consumers, it is planned to be put into operation in March 2018; the second - for gas supply to the countries of South and South-Eastern Europe (commissioning period - 2019). Gazprom considers options for the continuation of the "Turkish flow" through Bulgaria and Serbia, or through Greece and Italy.
