Energy supplies
August 6, 2009
The memorandum to be signed by Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will give Russia permission to start "exploration work" for the planned gas pipeline, according to Putin's top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.
He said the Turkish government will also give permission to begin a feasibility study "within days."
A Turkish government source also told Reuters that Ankara will allow the South Stream project to pass under its territorial waters.
Russia, which supplies one-fourth of Europe's natural gas, wants to speed up construction of gas supply routes to bypass Ukraine and other ex-Soviet states. Moscow and Kiev have engaged in bitter disputes over transit payments in recent years.
Putin's trip follows a signing ceremony in Ankara last month for transit agreements for the completing Nabucco gas pipeline. That project, backed by the European Union, is meant to counter Russia's strong influence on European energy supplies. Nabucco would draw on reserves in the Caspian Sea and Central Asia.
Ushakov said Putin and Erdogan have developed a "personal chemistry" which has helped them deal with thorny issues, such as gas marketing rights for Turkey. Such rights have been a sticking point in previous negotiations.
Turkey is the third largest consumer of Russian gas after Germany and Italy.
jam/Reuters/AP
Editor: Nancy Isenson