MOSCOW, September 27. /TASS/. Moscow and Ankara will continue consultations on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project later this week with eye of drafting an intergovernmental agreement by mid-October, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak said on Tuesday.

"This work goes on and this week consultations will be continued. We hope we will agree a draft intergovernmental agreement by mid-October, maybe somewhat earlier," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel.

Earlier, Novak said it was planned to square and sign a draft intergovernmental agreement in October 2016 and to begin works on the construction of the first Turkish Stream thread after all necessary permits for the construction in Turkey’s territorial waters were received. According to the minister, the sides had agreed to set up a working group that would draw and square a draft intergovernmental agreement on the construction of at least one thread across the Black Sea bottom to Turkey, with a possible extension to one more thread.

Earlier, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom obtained permits from the Turkish authorities to begin construction works under the Turkish Stream project.