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Erdogan, Putin to discuss bilateral relations, Syria in Turkey Jan 8

Turkey's Foreign Ministry did not mention where Erdogan and Putin would meet

ANKARA, December 6. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will meet on January 8 for the launch of the Turkish Stream pipeline project and a discussion of the situation in Syria, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy told the media on Friday.

"The Turkish Stream project is a very important aspect of our cooperation with Russia in the energy sphere. Its launch is due on January 8. In the latest telephone conversations our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to participate in this ceremony. The invitation was accepted. During the visit the leaders will also discuss bilateral issues and the march of events in Syria."

Aksoy did not mention where Erdogan and Putin would meet. On December 2, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not rule out that the talks might take place in Istanbul.

Earlier, Erdogan said that the commissioning of the Turkish Stream was scheduled for January 8. On November 19, Gazprom said that it was about to complete tune-up operations before the commissioning of the gas carrier Turkish Stream, which according to the official timetable, was to take place by the end of 2019. By now both pipes from coastal facilities near Anapa in Russia to the terminal Kiyikoy, in Turkey have been filled with gas.

The pipeline’s throughput is 31.5 billion cubic meters a year. The 930-kilometer long gas carrier was laid from Russia to Turkey under the Black Sea. The ground transit section to Turkey’s border with neighboring countries is 180 kilometers long.