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Lawmaker hopes for unanimous ratification of Turkish Stream agreement by State Duma

The lawmaker says the ratification of the Turkish Stream deal is an important infrastructure project

MOSCOW, January 19. /TASS/. Chairman of Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) Committee for International Affairs Leonid Slutsky said he hopes that Duma would unanimously ratify the agreement between Russia and Turkey on the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project.

"The ratification of the Turkish Stream agreement is an important infrastructure project, which is going to be added to the European gas map. Hopefully, the State Duma will unanimously ratify this crucial project," he said Thursday.

According to Slutsky, the expected ratification will be an important step for the European fuel and energy complex and Russia’s cooperation with its partners in the gas sphere. He added that the Duma’s international affairs committee will consider the draft agreement on Thursday, and "on February 1, the document will be considered by the Federation Council."

The Turkish Stream pipeline was announced by the Russian authorities in December 2014 to replace the South Stream pipeline. It was planned that the marine section of Turkish Stream would comprise four lines with the capacity of 15.75 bln cubic meters each. However, the talks on the project were suspended, particularly due to a crisis in the bilateral relations. In August 2016, following the meeting of presidents of the two countries a decision was made to resume the works on the Turkish Stream, set up a work group and create a roadmap.

The Turkish Stream project envisages the construction of a natural gas pipeline via the Black Sea to the European part of Turkey to be further extended to the border with Greece. The seabed section is about 910 kilometers and the mainland section through Turkey is 180 kilometers. Previously the project was estimated at 11.4 bln euro. It is supposed that gas supplies via the first line will be totally aimed for the needs of the growing Turkish market.